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Homework, a thing of the past?

Dropping out of school, failing or not knowing how to read, write and count have become rare in schools throughout Abu Dhabi.

According to a report published by the Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi (SCAD), illiteracy among school children has dropped to six per cent here, compared to 27.3 per cent in the rest of the Arab world. The number of teachers per students has increased, as has the number of schools.

Teachers and parents alike agree that not just the numbers, but the quality of education in general has also improved.

“One of the good things now is that the curricula have been changed in such a way that children don’t have to spend all day doing homework. It is very important for them to have other activities apart from school studies,” said Sumayyah Al Suwaidi, an Emirati from Abu Dhabi, who has four kids in school and one in college. “In my days, I used to study constantly, only having free time during holidays. It doesn’t mean that there are less subjects to study now, but the curricula is more efficient,” she added.

Subhiyah Al Masri, also a parent living in the capital, who has a daughter in the fifth grade, a son in grade 11 and another son going to college, believes that schools have come a long way in making the lives, and studies, of pupils much easier. “The focus now is on digital. Schools have more computers and they use websites a lot more for things such as taking an appointment with the principal or buying books and uniforms,” she said.

“My wish is that all schools would use the e-book system, meaning that children can read manuals online. There are so many books required nowadays and they tend to be quite heavy especially when students have to go up and down school stairs to get to their classes. Not only that, when they concentrate on an exam or other projects, they might forget other school books, so having online access would be perfect,” said Al Masri.

A teacher from the Abu Dhabi Indian School (ADIS), who wished to remain anonymous, complained that improving the education system should also take into consideration improving the teachers’ contracts. As the SCAD report stated, illiteracy cases come mostly from rural areas, yet improvement has been noted in remote schools, as well.

“Every year we visit the schools in the Western Region, who sends us their students, meeting with their management, teachers and students,” said Nial Farrell, dean of academic programmes at Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) - Madinat Zayed and Ruwais colleges.

“We understand the problems they are facing, and we are very impressed by the efforts they are making to prepare students,” he added. — silvia@khaleejtimes.com