A five-year freeze on issuing visas to workers from Bangladesh has placed extra strain on one of the emirate’s oldest schools.
The Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Bangladesh Islamia School is one of only two Bangladesh-curriculum schools in the country. Its Dhaka board curriculum is delivered in both English and Bangla.
The school has been unable to recruit teachers from Bangladesh since a ban on employment visas for new Bangladeshi workers took effect in 2012, reportedly due to rising crime. During a recent news conference to inaugurate a greenhouse on his school’s campus, principal Mir Anisul Hasan couldn’t contain his distress over the hiring freeze, telling the audience of officials, “we need some help”.
Later he acknowledged that his candidness may not have been “correct” or “diplomatic” but he thought it had been important to raise the matter.
“I tried to pass the message … that we are suffering for want of teachers,” said Mr Hasan, who has been with the school for more than 30 years.
The ban on hiring teachers from Bangladesh has forced the school to recruit within the UAE but even then there are challenges.
“We are able to recruit from here but Bangladeshi teachers very often are rejected, even locally, approval we are not getting,” said Mr Hasan.
About half of the school’s staff – including 49 teachers and 19 teaching assistants - are Bangladeshis.
“For the teachers who have already been working for many years, they are here, but new recruitment is not possible from Bangladesh,” he said.
Most of the curriculum’s books are in English, except for Bangla language and literature.
“So teachers coming from other countries like India, Sri Lanka, Egypt, they can teach,” he said.
Of the 665 pupils who attended the school last year, 98 per cent were Bangladeshi, 1 per cent were Indian and 1 per cent were Sri Lankan.
“The thing is, starting from grade nine to grade 12, we need expert teachers who have got expertise in learning and teaching scenarios from Bangladesh,” said Mr Hasan. “They are better acquainted with our syllabus, our curriculum, so we prefer teachers from our country.”
While students are becoming highly proficient at reading and writing in English, Mr Hasan said he is concerned their Bangla language and culture are suffering.
“[It’s] about cultural orientation and cultural familiarity. Bangladesh teachers can definitely play a good role,” he said. “I have seen that students are getting away from our culture due to lack of training in cultural consciousness. They find it a little difficult to write in Bangla, though they speak it very well. This is an alarming situation. If there is no good training from the mother tongue, I am sure innate education will never happen.”
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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
Coal Black Mornings
Brett Anderson
Little Brown Book Group
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
The flights: South African Airways flies from Dubai International Airport with a stop in Johannesburg, with prices starting from around Dh4,000 return. Emirates can get you there with a stop in Lusaka from around Dh4,600 return.
The details: Visas are available for 247 Zambian kwacha or US$20 (Dh73) per person on arrival at Livingstone Airport. Single entry into Victoria Falls for international visitors costs 371 kwacha or $30 (Dh110). Microlight flights are available through Batoka Sky, with 15-minute flights costing 2,265 kwacha (Dh680).
Accommodation: The Royal Livingstone Victoria Falls Hotel by Anantara is an ideal place to stay, within walking distance of the falls and right on the Zambezi River. Rooms here start from 6,635 kwacha (Dh2,398) per night, including breakfast, taxes and Wi-Fi. Water arrivals cost from 587 kwacha (Dh212) per person.
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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