Abu Dhabi: Late attendance, absenteeism and late book arrivals are to blame for the drop in recent test scores among Grade 12 students at Abu Dhabi public schools, the emirate’s education regulator said on Wednesday.
Exam results for the first trimester of the academic year are “poor” and “not promising,” according to a strongly worded statement issued by the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec).
After several meetings with school leaders, the council has concluded that students who failed to pass their exams had taken many absences from school, or were often late.
The body also said a change in the curriculum and the way science subjects was taught had affected grades.
Meanwhile, late book arrivals to schools during the first trimester — which the body said “was beyond” its control — had also led to slipping scores.
“Students must take responsibility for their grades,” said Karima Al Mazroui, Adec acting executive director.
Al Mazroui said students were expected to attend schools within the specified hours. She called upon parents to “ensure they (children) don’t skip school or arrive late, as well as explain to them the social responsibility expected out of them in order to add value to the workforce”.
Students can soon expect to face consequences for not showing up, according to Al Mazroui.
“As a result, more stringent attendance regulations have been put together by Adec and will be circulated in schools very soon.”
“Our partnership and involvement in the education sector cannot be successful without the right type of support from our stakeholders,” said Al Mazroui.
In response to the “poor examination results”, the council has introduced both short-term and long-term projects as a solution. The short-term solutions are to be implemented in two weeks.
Longer-term plans include rolling out professional development workshops to teachers and school heads, “both at a group level and at an individual level if need be.”
Students will also be given extra guidance and assistance if required. Meanwhile, teachers will be offered classroom-level assistance, and tutoring from curriculum experts, the education body said.
For the second trimester, textbooks have already been delivered to schools “in order to avoid similar examination results”.
