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Censorship in Schools a Must Says Ministry of Education

The education ministry asked all private schools on Sunday to scrutinise textbooks, before prescribing them to students, to ensure they do not contain texts or images ‘defaming’ or ‘affronting’ God, religion or the UAE.

This move follows a recent complaint against a Grade VIII English textbook Elements of Literature — The Holt Reader (Second Course) in which God is reportedly described as a ‘toy’.

“We took the book and studied it case by case after we received complaints. There were certain pages that were inappropriate and there was a chapter that specifically described God as a toy. The education zone should now follow up with the schools,” Dr Mariam Al Ali, Director of the Supervising and Monitoring of Private Schools Department, Ministry of Education, told Khaleej Times.

Schools that follow international curricula are expected to strictly adhere to the ministry’s new standards, introduced last year, while prescribing books, or face ‘closure’. The new standards urge schools to omit flags and emblems of countries and organisations that do not share normal relations with the UAE. They have also been asked to refrain from discussing alcohol, drugs or homosexuality — issues unacceptable to the Arab and Muslim society.

“Schools should keep in mind the rules and regulations of the ministry and scrutinise text books for the best interests of the child,” Dr Ali said. “Schools have to abide by the new bylaws. We will warn schools and will not hesitate to close them down if they do not follow our norms. Our objective is not to close schools but make them aware.”…SOURCE

Apparently, You Can Learn English in Just 14 Easy Weeks

Education officials are offering Emirati students an intensive English course to help them avoid a foundation year in the language before starting university.

But two local experts are critical of the programme, with one saying better English teachers were needed in primary and secondary schools, and another claiming the foundation year is still the best way.

Last year, only 11 per cent of applicants to federal universities scored high enough on placement exams to start degree courses without a year or more of English studies.

Federal universities report that up to a third of their budgets are spent on getting students up to scratch in English.

The Ministry of Education’s 14-week programme, which started on Saturday and will run to May 9, is open to Emiratis in the northern Emirates and Dubai…SOURCE

Dubai Schools Fall Short

Dubai’s schools need immediate changes if they are to compete internationally, an independent report that will be sent to the Ministry of Education and other stakeholders says.

The Dubai School of Government report paints an especially grim picture of state schools, based on the results of Dubai’s recent participation in the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Studies (TIMSS) exams.

Dubai state schools performed significantly worse than the emirate’s private schools, which also fell short of top international standards.

The report makes several recommendations, including extending the school year, licensing teachers and modernising teaching methods.

It will be presented to ministry officials in the coming weeks and has been seen by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), which oversees Dubai’s schools.

Improving the schools will require immediate and comprehensive action by the ministry, said the report’s author, Mike Helal, a visiting researcher at the Dubai School of Government.

“A piecemeal approach to each of these areas is not going to succeed in any efficient education reform,” Mr Helal said, adding that lengthening the school day and year in state schools should be the ministry’s priority.

The TIMSS exam, which assesses the maths and science skills of 10- and 14-year-old pupils, was conducted in more than 50 countries. The tests were scored on a scale from zero to 1,000, with 500 representing the average.

TIMSS classifies pupils in four achievement levels: advanced, high, intermediate and low. At the Grade 4 level in maths, only two per cent of Dubai pupils performed at the advanced level. In contrast, 41 per cent of pupils in Singapore and 40 per cent in Hong Kong reached that level.

“There is a substantial gap” between Dubai and comparable cities, Mr Helal said…SOURCE

Ministry of Education to Review School Fee Hikes

Tuition fee increases for the next academic year are expected to be reviewed due to the global financial meltdown that has had repercussions in the UAE.

However, education officials may not be keen on a fee hike due to the economic downturn. The officials said any fee hike would be nominal.

A number of private schools also anticipate large student withdrawals when schools close for the summer with many expatriates planning to be back in their home countries.

“We are committed to the new by-laws we established recently. We are, however, open to reviewing them. Fees would be determined by supply and demand,” said Rashid Al Nuaimi, Director General at the Ministry of Education, which set fee increases to be between 10 and 30 per cent.

“We are looking at new regulations, which will be announced in January or may be earlier,” said Mohammed Darwish, Chief of Licensing and Partner Relations, from Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) that capped the maximum allowable rise at 16 per cent for the academic years 2007 and 2008. Though the emirate’s education authorities declined to disclose further information, education sources indicated the recession would be a major factor that would determine increases, if any at all.

Officials are working on a fee structure and in fact it will be announced earlier than usual. Given the new global circumstances, the recession will be kept in mind,” said a source close to the authority. Another source even suggested the authority may not announce any increases for the new academic year.

They also said with the emirate announcing regulations as early as January instead of the customary March was a further indication of their acknowledgement of the crisis.

Schools, on the other hand, have already received requests for withdrawals while others anticipate them in early 2009. “There have been a few cases of families who have withdrawn their children from a few of our schools, as they plan to move on from Dubai due to job transfers and redundancies; however the number of cases has been lower than expected,” said Clive Pierrepont, Director of Marketing and Communications at Taaleem schools…SOURCE