Parents urged to take more interest in children’s learning

Abu Dhabi: Senior education officials have urged parents to increase their engagement with their child’s education in order to improve standards.

Of parents surveyed, 68 per cent said they were satisfied with the educational services at the capital’s public schools.

The results come from a study conducted in the 2011-2012 academic year by experts at the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec).

More than 20,000 parents, representing 61 per cent of parents of all children enrolled at public schools, responded to the study.

But Adec officials want parents to play a crucial role in their child’s educational life.

“Parents must play a greater role in instilling social skills in children before the age of three years. Proper social skills equip a child to develop advanced cognitive skills during the school years,” urged Dr Mugheer Khamis Al Khaili, director general at the Adec.

He was speaking at the Bedaya forum in the capital, which is organised to mark the start of a new academic year at public schools in the emirate of Abu Dhabi.

The official also insisted upon a strong connection between parents and their children’s schools, and for parents to spend quality time with children at home.

“Compared to about 5,000 parents who responded to the school satisfaction survey in 2010-2011, more than 20,000 parents responded in 2011-2012. This shows greater engagement, which helps pupils develop leadership skills and positive behaviour patterns,” he added.

In an attempt to increase parents’ awareness of student performance, Adec also introduced the electronic Student Information System (eSIS) in 2009.

All public and private schools following an Asian curriculum and the Ministry of Education curriculum currently apply the eSIS, which is accessible online, Hamad Al Daheri, executive director for private schools and quality assurance at Adec, told Gulf News.

All other schools will have access to the eSIS by October.

Dr Al Khaili added that 3,000 parents have been trained to use the online system during the 2011-2012 academic year.

“We will organise more workshops throughout this academic year so that parents become familiar with using the eSIS to monitor their children’s attendance, school behaviour and academic performance,” he added.

Parents in Abu Dhabi have also recently expressed concerns that numerous children use social media more frequently than engaging in reading as an activity.

In response, Adec officials announced an upcoming two-week event, entitled ‘Abu Dhabi Reads’, which will encourage reading among pupils enrolled in kindergarten and Cycle 1.

“We urge writers and all literary experts to participate in this event, especially as it is recommended that children to develop reading habits at a young age,” Dr Al Khaili said.