Get up to Speed with The SCHOOLS REPORT UAE: WHAT MADE THE NEWS FOR SCHOOLS, PARENTS AND STUDENTS IN EDUCATION THIS WEEK?
Get up to speed fast as The Schools Report brings you the SchoolsCompared.com official ‘Weekly Round-up on the Hottest News in Education.’
Every Friday we cut to the chase – bringing you the stand-out, latest stories in education in the UAE and around the world in the last 7 days. Here’s what’s been happening this week…
This Week in Education. UAE Education News. First. Every Friday. Only from SchoolsCompared.com.
More schools needed as Dubai population surges to nearly 6m in 20 years
The population of Dubai is projected to nearly double in the next 20 years, according to experts who predict a fresh wave of post-pandemic immigration.
Experts anticipate the growth will drive the need for new schools and hundreds of thousands of new homes, with some new arrivals expected to be from Russia and Sub-Saharan Africa.
Dubai Statistics Centre’s population counter, which records growth using residency visa data, stood at 3.48m this week – and looks set to hit 3.5 million within weeks or months.
The GCC recorded a four per cent fall in population over 2020, due to the Covid-19 outbreak, with Dubai experiencing the largest decrease at 8.4 per cent. But the city appears to have already bounced back from that. Today, the population is nearly 100,000 higher than in January 2020.
In anticipation of the growing population, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, last year, unveiled the 2040 Urban Master Plan, in which Spaces designated for educational and health facilities will increase by 25 per cent. It aims to transform the emirate, making it more sustainable and interconnected to cater to an expected population of 5.8m. Read more.
UAE unveils new plan to empower students of determination over next 50 years
The UAE Ministry of Education (MoE) has released a plan to prepare and empower students of determination over the next 50 years. Some key initiatives that will be implemented in the first ten years include: empowering students of determination with various skills and competencies so they can be in leadership positions; and developing a framework for employment, ethical governance and technology that enhances the status of people of determination.
The ministry also identified three axes of empowerment, which will be applied from 2031 to 2071, related to the services system, technology and research, and the national and community system.
The first axis involves seven initiatives, including; a developed policy for inclusive education targeting public and private schools and universities, as well as a program for the early detection of cases of people of determination before marriage, during pregnancy, after childbirth and during the learning phase. The first axis also includes health, educational, social, occupational, and career systems based on artificial and technological intelligence to support the stages of prevention, early detection and sustainable education for people of determination. Read more.
Parents and pupils face long queues for PCR tests as Abu Dhabi schools reopen
Pupils and parents flocked for PCR tests in Abu Dhabi at the weekend ahead of in-class learning recommencing in phases this week.
Long queues were reported at Biogenix testing centre in Masdar City as families rushed to get their mandatory tests results before being able to return to in-school classes.
Pupils in government-run schools nationwide are in the process of returning to in-person learning in phases, with the start date dependent on their year group.
First to return this week on January 24 were kindergarten/foundation stage, grades 1-5/years 2-6 and grade 12/year 13, university students and anyone preparing for international exams.
Remote learning for grades 6-11/years 7-12 to continue until this upcoming Monday January 31, when all years return.
All pupils require a PCR test, taken in the past 96 hours, to enter school buildings. Additional tests will be needed every two weeks. Read more and see pictures of queues to get PCR tests in Abu Dhabi.
Modern education “fails our children” by valuing grades above life skills or their mental health
Schools are failing children by focusing too much on their exam results and not providing them with life skills or emotional resilience, according to a focus group of parents interview by The Times UK’s Education Commission. The parents were united in the feeling that the purpose of education had been lost: “It’s like they’re just cogs in a machine, churning out results, rather than actually preparing them for the future,” said one mother.
These sentiments were echoed by interviews with pupil and with business leaders such as billionaire Sir Richard Branson – a dyslexic student, who dropped out of school at age 15 because the system failed him, and who says that the system is still failing students like him, as well as killing creativity and risk-taking in young people. Branson and other business leaders insist there must be a total transformation in education to engage children in the digital age and prepare young people for the modern world. “There are some people who need a particular way of being taught, and there are other who definitely don’t need that way of being taught, and at the moment, everybody gets taught the same way,” says Branson. “So much emphasis is put on exams, and that precludes schools from being adventurous.” Read more from The Times Education Commission’s latest findings.
Most English teachers want a more diverse syllabus, research finds
Fifteen months after it was revealed that students could end up leaving school in England without studying a single piece of literature by a Black or minority ethnic author, research has found that teachers are still crying out for more diverse texts on the English syllabus.
Asked which changes to the English syllabus they felt would most help their students, 80% of UK secondary school teachers, and 69% of primary school teachers, said they wanted more diverse and representative set texts. The survey of 2,270 teachers was made by Teacher Tapp for publisher Pearson.
The research follows the report last year that just 0.7% of GCSE students in England study a book by a writer of colour, compared with the 34.4% of school-age students in England who identify as Black, Asian or minority ethnic. The research was done by Penguin and race equality thinktank the Runnymede Trust, which teamed up to form the campaign Lit in Colour to help support schools diversify the teaching of English literature.
Pandemic challenges spur digital transformation in UAE education sector
The Covid-19 crisis has offered an opportunity for all stakeholders in the education sector to reconsider how education is managed and delivered, said Hussain Al Hammadi, UAE Minister of Education, during a keynote session to mark the International Day of Education this week. “With the new health reality, an urgent need has emerged to strengthen international cooperation and work to confront the challenges that have arisen. Therefore it has become imperative for us to enhance educational development opportunities to ensure that it reaches all students around the world,” said Al Hammadi. He also stressed the importance and value of education and its leading role in building the walls of development, cooperation, global peace, strengthening global identity, and improving the quality of human life. The UAE Ministry of Education’s activities for the International Day of Education included interactive and talking sessions, in addition to presentations of inspiring experiences from around the world by a group of international students and teachers. Read more.
Record number of Black and Asian students accepted at top UK universities
Black and Asian students won places at prestigious UK universities at record levels in 2021, alongside increasing numbers of students from all backgrounds, and the chief executive of the Ucas admissions service has said there could be one million applications for places by 2026.
The number of Black students who accepted places at selective institutions, such as those in the Russell Group of leading research universities, rose by 19% in a year, from 3,775 in 2020 to just under 4,500, according to figures released by Ucas.
The record numbers of applications and acceptances were driven by the rise in higher A-levels awarded in 2021 after the government’s decision to cancel exams and replace them with teacher-assessed grades.
Ucas said the number of applicants achieving the top A-level grades almost doubled compared with 2020 – up from 12,735 to 19,595 – and was nearly quadruple the pre-pandemic levels of 5,655 in 2019. “As a likely result, 103,010 UK young people were accepted at higher-tariff providers, up 11% from 92,650 in 2020,” it noted.
GCSEs 2021: Huge rise in appeals over teacher grades
Appeals over teacher assessed GCSE and A-level grades awarded last summer more than quadrupled compared to 2020 after students were allowed to appeal based on the academic judgement used, data released by Ofqual on 27 January reveals.
Teacher assessed grades (TAGs) were used to determine grades for GCSE and A-level results in 2021 after exams were cancelled due to Covid.
Data published by Ofqual shows the number of appeals received, appeals upheld and appeals leading to grade changes increased sharply for GCSEs in summer 2021.
The exams regulator said this was due to the change in summer 2021 exams to allow students to appeal results if they thought an “unreasonable academic judgement” had been made by their school.
In total, 17,490 GCSE, AS and A-level grades were challenged by pupils in 2021, compared to 3,570 the year before.
Most of the appeals challenged teachers’ academic judgment of pupils’ work, which were used to justify the grades awarded.
Gulf News reports on ASD’s SchoolsCompared.com Top School Award win
American School of Dubai (ASD) was recently named the overall best school in the country by SchoolsCompared.com’a Top Schools Awards 2021, reported UAE newspaper GulfNews.com in an article published on 27 January 2022. More than 7,000 nominations were reviewed in collaboration with 25 education experts, and the final winners were chosen by a panel of independent educational consultants, reported the paper. In addition, ASD received the awards for Best School for Sport in the UAE and Best American Curriculum School in the UAE.
“These awards have affirmed what we believe to be true: our school has the ability to change lives, and the evidence of our success has never been more clear,” said Hamilton Clark, ASD Superintendent. Read more.
KHDA releases admissions guidelines for enrolling children in nurseries in Dubai
The Dubai nursery schools looks set for a boom with the release of a new Dubai nursery and Early Learning Centre KHDA guide, which aims to increase the quality of early-years provision for parents and children in the emirate.
Designed to promote growth as well as excellence in Dubai nursery schools and Early Learning Centre sector, the guide includes detailed information on the educational and operational requirements of opening or expanding an early childhood education establishment in Dubai.
The Dubai nursery guide has been released by the KHDA (Knowledge and Human Development Authority), which regulates Dubai private schools, as well as nurseries and early learning centres (ELCs) in Dubai.
UAE parents warned to follow school bus stop sign rules or face Dh1,000 fine
Police in Abu Dhabi have urged motorists to bring their vehicles to a complete stop when the ‘stop’ sign is on a school bus while dropping off or picking up students. The warning follows the return of pupils to school campuses for in-person learning from Monday, January 24.
As part of its campaign under the slogan ‘In their safety, is our happiness’, Abu Dhabi Police reminded motorists that they are supposed to stop in both directions on a two-way road when the ‘stop’ sign has been displayed, at a distance of five metres from the school bus.
Motorists who ignore the ‘stop’ signs are fined Dh1,000 and will receive ten black points against their licences, the force warned on Twitter.
School bus drivers are also required to display the ‘stop’ signs on the buses while picking up or dropping off students. The penalty for not displaying the ‘stop’ sign is Dh500 and six black points.
The Schools Report © SchoolsCompared.com. 2022. All rights reserved.
Leave a Response