All private schools in Dubai must be able to cater for special needs children by 2020, according to new guidelines.
Officials from the Knowledge and Human Development Authority said the move was an ambitious but entirely justified target.
Experts hope the decision will ensure access to education for the disabled across the emirate will be substantially improved.
Parents also welcomed the initiative, saying the drive for inclusivity could lead to a drop in fees they pay for learning assistants to look after their child while in school.
“This will have a major impact on education,” said Michelle Choytooa, who takes care of special needs children at Victory Heights Primary School.
“I am hoping that the costs [of care] will go down if this is implemented, though it will take time. It's not realistic to say all the costs will disappear.”
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KHDA, Dubai’s education regulator, announced the new scheme on Wednesday last week.
The authority said the move would only apply to fee-paying schools, with government schools not bound by the guidelines.
Under the scheme, every school teacher will be required to be trained to deal with pupils of determination.
Appropriate infrastructure such as wheelchair ramps and other access-friendly facilities will also be installed where not already available.
Currently, schools in Dubai assess special needs children on an individual basis to determine whether or not they are able to cater for their specific needs.
Parents often have to pay additional fees to the school to allow for learning assistants to accompany the child throughout the day.
By 2020, however, KHDA officials said they aimed to put a stop to the practice of schools profiting excessively from this extra support.
The new guidelines state that where additional fees are required, schools can only pass on the at cost charge, and no more. A learning support assistant can typically cost as much as Dh300 per day.
Richard Drew, principal at Jumeira Baccalaureate School, said his school was working to cut costs for parents of disabled children.
“Schools may expect parents to a pay for learning support assistants and the child may also require therapy,” he said.
“These are often provided by private establishments and are not cheap. If they [schools] are offering an inclusive education in the right way, they can reduce the costs for parents.”
Sonia Kohli, assistant headmistress at Indian High School, that does not charge parents for learning assistants, said some parents could object to it from a cost perspective.
“Parents are not open to this additional cost as it can be challenging,” she said. “They don’t want to accept that their children need help.”
Louise Dawson, head of inclusion at Kings' School Al Barsha, said the new guidelines were both right and necessary.
She agreed the change could help reduce costs for parents, but highlighted how her school already took steps to ensure additional fees were kept low.
Of the 120 children with special needs at the school, only 20 pay additional costs, she said.
"Kings' has a scale for charging additional fees which is incredibly reasonable,” she said.
“There are some children who can’t be left alone due to their needs. We have worked on the costs and reduced the costs significantly.”
Fatma Belrehif, a spokeswoman for KHDA, said the new guidelines proved the regulator’s continued commitment to ensuring all children could access quality education.
“The launch of this new guide for schools is a reflection of our commitment to enable schools to create a welcoming environment for everyone,” she said.
“This will only be possible when the entire school community values diversity and believes in creating engaging, relevant and meaningful experiences for students of determination.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Profile of VoucherSkout
Date of launch: November 2016
Founder: David Tobias
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers
Sector: Technology
Size: 18 employees
Stage: Embarking on a Series A round to raise $5 million in the first quarter of 2019 with a 20 per cent stake
Investors: Seed round was self-funded with “millions of dollars”
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
