UAE students fall short of global standards: Study

DUBAI - Schools across the UAE will need to put in extra effort to improve their educational output as a new international study has revealed there is plenty of scope for improvement in student learning.

More than 11,000 students from 369 schools in the country were evaluated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) as the study’s results were announced on Thursday.

Placing the UAE below the international average, the findings are a cause of worry for educational authorities who have highlighted the need to improve education. Speaking with Khaleej Times, Education Minister Humaid Mohammed Obaid Al Qattami said: “This was the first time the UAE participated in PISA and we have been ranked the best regionally. There is still scope for improvement and we will continue to make efforts to better education in the UAE.”

More than 65 countries took part in the study, which benchmarks countries based on their level of performance. The UAE scored 431 points in reading, 421 in mathematics and 438 in science. The international average for reading is 493, mathematics is 496, and science is 501.

While other countries in the Middle East have also been rated below average, the UAE has scored the highest in the region ahead of Qatar, Jordan and Tunisia.

Moza Rashid Al Ghufly, who heads the PISA project for the UAE, explained the importance of the standings as she said: “These results are an important indicator of where we stand when it comes to education. We will study these results in greater detail to make improvements in curriculum, teacher training and student development.”

The UAE became a part of the international evaluation for the first time in 2009 as 15-year-old students from public and private high schools took the written and cognitive tests.

Launched by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2000, PISA evaluates the basic skills of 15-year olds with assessments in mathematics, science and reading. Conducted every three years, the next cycle of evaluations will take place this year as the results will be announced in December 2013. — muaz@khaleejtimes.com

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