Children, rightly, have been called a nation’s greatest resource: they are its future. As we have repeatedly pointed out since our launch in April, unless this resource is nurtured and developed, the well-being of the country is threatened. Quality education is the most essential tool to ensure that the young are equipped to take the reins from their parents. While the UAE has come a long way in its short history, the public education system has, unfortunately, largely failed to keep step with the needs of the developing nation.
The evidence of the failure can be seen in the example of Emirati parents, 40 per cent of whom now send their children to private schools. But the adoption of the Abu Dhabi Education Council’s school standards by the Ministry of Education and the ministry’s own improvements may prove a turning point in the decline of Government schools.
It is hard to understate the importance of the Ministry’s announcement. It entails a comprehensive overhaul of the way schools are run and the way students are taught, and, most importantly, creates a system of standardisation essential to ensuring quality education for every child. If successfully implemented it will not matter if a child lives in Abu Dhabi city or Madinat Zayed, Dubai or Ras al Khaimah.
Schools, which had focused too much on rote learning will now seek to teach problem-solving abilities in addition to factual knowledge. Progress to the next year will depend on the development of key skills rather than the ability to regurgitate the contents of a textbook. But as the Ministry implements these new methods of teaching, it must not do away with the core of a good education. Proficiency in mathematics, science and language does also require rote memorisation and drilling, which ought not be lost in the new programme. Western educational systems, on which the new standards are based, have all too often lost sight of the essential aspect of memorisation and recitation in the learning process – to the detriment of their students.
Many of the problems facing the UAE have their roots in the failure of the public school system adequately to prepare its charges for the future. Everything from Emiratisation to unemployment, national identity, and the indolence of younger generations have their roots in the inability of schools to inspire students with a sense of pride and a yearning to succeed. We at The National have eagerly urged such reforms since we began publishing and anticipate the results of the Ministry’s efforts in the coming years.