British Education: Excellent Training

A large number of British schools, colleges and universities have chosen to establish a presence in the UAE

The UAE today enjoys a commanding position in the field of education in the Middle East. Its strategic location and modern infrastructure offer extraordinary opportunities as security, progress and prosperity get top priority in government plans.
These developments, in a short span of time, would not have been possible without educated and trained manpower. The leaders of the UAE have been endeavouring to support the education sector in order to develop the nation's human capital and mould future generations. With this objective in mind, education was given top priority in UAE's budget for the fiscal year 2017. Seeking to lay greater emphasis on educational activities, the sector has been allocated 20.5 per cent (Dh10.2 billion) of the 2017 budget of a total spend of Dh48.5 billion.

Figures 91,903 students attend British-curriculum schools in Dubai 73 UK-curriculum schools in Dubai Students by nationality in Dubai India - 93,013 UAE - 32,103 Pakistan - 22,754 Egypt - 14,172 UK - 13,149

In a rapidly changing, information and technology-driven world that defies prediction, being a student is not an easy task. It is important to have the ability to adapt to changing circumstances and function with self-confidence in multicultural environments of a global society. You need to be confident in order to communicate and learn continuously to find solutions to problems.
One must be able to set goals and learn to be adaptable. For a fulfilling participation, a student must have the will to critically reflect on life's experiences, on social and civic values with an abiding commitment to learn, to behave responsibly and ethically influence others to do the same.
So, the primary goal of education should be to train and condition the mind so that each individual can function effectively in a contemporary context. This is what British education achieves. A large number of British schools, colleges and universities have chosen to establish a presence in the UAE. Together they constitute one of the largest grouping of foreign colleges and universities in the UAE. There are several reasons why they have been so successful.
According to experts in the field, UK schools, colleges and universities have a long history of providing excellent quality education to students based outside the UK. They have established quality assurance systems and their teaching is supported through extensive research. Most of the teaching and all marking of examination papers is conducted by UK home-campus-based academics and local students are expected to meet the same standards as students studying in the UK.
Moreover, a degree from a UK institution is a testament to prospective employers that the applicant is capable of independent thought, able to undertake research and analysis and is prepared to work hard. UK universities in the UAE are world class, featuring prominently in world league tables.
British education thus provides an opportunity for the acquisition of skills necessary for a livelihood as well as character building, an essential part of this process. In future, people's main assets will be their knowledge and success will depend on how well they communicate what they know.
- suchitra@khaleejtimes.com

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Suchitra Steven Samuel

• suchitra@khaleejtimes.com