Opinion | Your Say
A cautiously optimistic view of UAE's education system
More than half of the respondents surveyed view the quality of school education in a positive light.
- By Manal Alafrangi, Staff Writer
- Published: 00:00 September 13, 2005
The countdown is over! Presumably, that is the main thought on most parents' (and some students') minds as schools officially opened their doors this month for the start of a new academic year.
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UAE residents have a cautiously optimistic view of the education system in the country.
Although the UAE has advanced greatly in the field of education within the past few decades, there is a felt awareness amongst many that continued investment in schools is necessary for the field's development.
So far, issues like career counselling and internships have not been fully addressed and parents are concerned their children are not receiving enough information about potential opportunities.
Having said that, parents feel 'fairly good' about the quality of teaching in UAE's schools and are equally as optimistic when it comes to the general quality of school education in the country.
That is the overall conclusion from the first instalment of the latest survey undertaken by YouGov for Gulf News. YouGov polled 689 residents based in the UAE.
 Hadrian Hernandez/Gulf News Students take a class in music at the newly opened Dubai International Academy at Emirates Hills. |
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The overwhelming majority of respondents (73 per cent) were from the Asian subcontinent and in a salary bracket of $2133-$3999 (Dh7,828-Dhs14,676) per month.
Therefore, this has to be taken into consideration when viewing the results.
Private schools
Respondents were asked if they had an offspring studying in the UAE. 390 of them did while the remaining (298) did not.
More than half of YouGov respondents viewed the quality of school education in the UAE in a positive light calling it either "very good" or "good".
This was especially the view amongst parents with a university degree and beyond indicating that the more educated parents rated the UAE's education system better.
Two-thirds of YouGov respondents preferred to send their children to private schools as opposed to government schools. This does not come as a surprise, given the rapid increase in the number of new private schools throughout the UAE.
Within private schools, various curriculums are taught and parents have a choice of sending their children to British, American, Indian, Pakistani, Filipino, French or Japanese programmes amongst others.
As a reflection of the majority of respondents' background (Asian), the first choice for parents was the "Indian" system, followed closely by "British". "American" came some way behind as the third choice.
But beneath the various programmes available for parents to select from, all private schools concentrate on the teaching of languages.
Respondents were asked if they thought there should be emphasis placed on the teaching of English at schools. As one would predict, the overwhelming majority said yes, given that the English language has emerged as the world's lingua franca.
In terms of the Arabic language, a previous YouGov poll concluded that the majority of respondents (48 per cent) thought Arabic language skills should be compulsory on syllabuses in private schools.
This comes as an obvious contrast to Gulf News' online poll published on September 6, which produced a near-perfect split regarding the subject matter.
Homework preference
Thinking about a child's education after school hours, YouGov respondents were asked to consider whether they preferred their children to bring home schoolwork or to have it all completed at school.
The overwhelming majority, across all nationalities, conceded they preferred their kids to "have a reasonable amount of homework" instead of "not having any" or "having a great deal of homework".
One aspect of preparing children for the new school year sparked an opinionated response that is, the restrictions with regard to where books and uniform can be purchased.
Overwhelmingly, parents agreed there shouldn't be any restrictions imposed on where to shop. Instead, parents should be free to fish for the best bargains in the market.
In terms of internships available for high school students, it appeared parents had little knowledge of this sphere. The majority either answered "neither satisfied nor dissatisfied" or "don't know".
Uncertainty is also found in the next question. We asked, "On a scale of 0 to 10, how difficult or easy do you find accessing information on education in the UAE?"
One third of our respondents said it was "neither hard nor easy" to get hold of informative pieces on education. The remaining parents could not agree on a single rate.
In the next instalment, the Gulf News survey undertaken by YouGov will examine what subjects aid in children's development and which should be compulsory. It will also investigate parents' perception on higher education and sending their kids to study abroad.
BE HEARD!
To take part in Gulf News/YouGov surveys such as this one and get paid to do so, simply register at www.yougovme.com
| Do you have a child / children studying in the UAE? | |
| % | |
| Yes ? I have a child/children studying in the UAE | 57 |
| No ? I have no children studying in the UAE | 43 |
| How do you view the quality of school education in the UAE? | |
| % | |
| Very good | 11 |
| Good | 47 |
| Fair | 34 |
| Poor | 7 |
| Don't know | 1 |
| Where would you prefer to send your child for schooling? | |
| % | |
| A Government school within the UAE | 3 |
| A private school within the UAE | 68 |
| A school abroad (Western education) | 11 |
| A school in my ?home' country | 18 |
| Don't know | 1 |
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