ABU DHABI // Improvements in education cannot happen without the consultation of parents, teachers and industry, educators have said at a forum in the capital.
The Transforming Education Summit, which was hosted by the Abu Dhabi Education Council, concluded yesterday after education leaders discussed how to raise standards, trust, employment and create lifelong learning opportunities.
"If you want to put the right solutions, you have to engage all stakeholders," said Amal Al Qubaisi, the FNC's first deputy speaker.
"And everyone should feel responsible for the change. It is a social responsibility."
Eric Hanushek, an academic from Stanford University in the US, said there needed to be more accountability for schools to receive a return on reform.
"You need to let schools have control over their operations and back it with a good accountability system," Mr Hanushek said.
"It should also be embedded in local culture and parents must be a part of the accountability process. One way of increasing accountability is inspections and international assessments but then the results must be made public."
Jussi Hiltunen, a senior associate at the consultant Booz & Company, which was a partner of the event, said reform was not creating an impact because of disengagement. "It has always been something that has come from the top and something that is not engaged," he said.
Mr Hiltunen said reform needed a holistic design, which required leading across sectors.
"It's not only about what I can do at the ministry of education but what I can do to involve the finance ministry or the health ministry too," he said. "[And it is] not only the government but across the private sector as well."
He said best practice could not be imported from other countries but had to be created around the existing culture.
"You must not try to change the preference of parents to a certain model," Mr Hiltunen said. "It should be about working with them to develop something they can easily adapt to."
Muhyiddin Yassin, Malaysia's deputy prime minister and minister of education, said everyone wanted education standards to be raised, "so it is fitting that the government engages across sections of society".
He said Malaysia had begun a "National Education Dialogue" which included the public in what the changes should look like.
"For the first time we have a nationwide consultation programme," Mr Yassin said.
Teachers and parents have raised similar issues with reform in the country.
"There is a lot of change all the time and before we can adopt one, another one is in place," said an Emirati teacher who did not wish to be identified. "And that is affecting the children, too."
Although government schools do not have autonomy, the authority said it planned to reduce control over schools after building capacity among local staff.
Industry professionals said the slow education improvements over the years, and lack of collaboration with other sectors, had affected the human capital required for economic growth.
Homaid Al Shemmari, the executive director of Mubadala Aerospace, said the UAE had an advantage over the rest of the world, yet it faced challenges.
"We have the leadership, the money, resources and motivation, yet what we do not have today is human capital," Mr Al Shemmari said.
"The education system has not caught up with change."
He said the UAE still heavily relies on a foreign workforce.
"We need to bring Emiratis up to speed and try to build education programmes that make them step up to the plate.
"Stop looking at government jobs and set priorities in areas that we need Emiratis in."
Dr Rafic Makki, the executive director of the Office of Planning and Strategic Affairs at the Abu Dhabi Education Council, said the capital's school reform aimed to provide that well-rounded approach to change yesterday.
Quek Jin Jong, the principal officer at the National Institute of Education in Singapore, a country with a top-ranking education system, said it developed human capital by aligning the objectives of schools with those of industry.
"Education and universities work with the economic development board, ministry of manpower, to forecast what kind of students will be needed.
"This is assigned to the different schools and universities to produce within the timeframe."
The summit ended with recommendations to set up working committees to develop strategies in areas of efficiency and funding of education, engagement and increasing efforts towards best practice.
aahmed@thenational.ae
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh132,000 (Countryman)
RESULTS
1.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,400m
Winner: Dirilis Ertugrul, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Ismail Mohammed (trainer)
2.15pm: Handicap Dh90,000 1,400m
Winner: Kidd Malibu, Sandro Paiva, Musabah Al Muhairi
2.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,000m
Winner: Raakezz, Tadhg O’Shea, Nicholas Bachalard
3.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,200m
Winner: Au Couer, Sean Kirrane, Satish Seemar
3.45pm: Maiden Dh75,000 1,600m
Winner: Rayig, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
4.15pm: Handicap Dh105,000 1,600m
Winner: Chiefdom, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer
4.45pm: Handicap Dh80,000 1,800m
Winner: King’s Shadow, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar
The specS: 2018 Toyota Camry
Price: base / as tested: Dh91,000 / Dh114,000
Engine: 3.5-litre V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 298hp @ 6,600rpm
Torque: 356Nm @ 4,700rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
Last-16
France 4
Griezmann (13' pen), Pavard (57'), Mbappe (64', 68')
Argentina 3
Di Maria (41'), Mercado (48'), Aguero (90 3')
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
How to keep control of your emotions
If your investment decisions are being dictated by emotions such as fear, greed, hope, frustration and boredom, it is time for a rethink, Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at online trading platform IG, says.
Greed
Greedy investors trade beyond their means, open more positions than usual or hold on to positions too long to chase an even greater gain. “All too often, they incur a heavy loss and may even wipe out the profit already made.
Tip: Ignore the short-term hype, noise and froth and invest for the long-term plan, based on sound fundamentals.
Fear
The risk of making a loss can cloud decision-making. “This can cause you to close out a position too early, or miss out on a profit by being too afraid to open a trade,” he says.
Tip: Start with a plan, and stick to it. For added security, consider placing stops to reduce any losses and limits to lock in profits.
Hope
While all traders need hope to start trading, excessive optimism can backfire. Too many traders hold on to a losing trade because they believe that it will reverse its trend and become profitable.
Tip: Set realistic goals. Be happy with what you have earned, rather than frustrated by what you could have earned.
Frustration
Traders can get annoyed when the markets have behaved in unexpected ways and generates losses or fails to deliver anticipated gains.
Tip: Accept in advance that asset price movements are completely unpredictable and you will suffer losses at some point. These can be managed, say, by attaching stops and limits to your trades.
Boredom
Too many investors buy and sell because they want something to do. They are trading as entertainment, rather than in the hope of making money. As well as making bad decisions, the extra dealing charges eat into returns.
Tip: Open an online demo account and get your thrills without risking real money.
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MATCH INFO
Championship play-offs, second legs:
Aston Villa 0
Middlesbrough 0
(Aston Villa advance 1-0 on aggregate)
Fulham 2
Sessegnon (47'), Odoi (66')
Derby County 0
(Fulham advance 2-1 on aggregate)
Final
Saturday, May 26, Wembley. Kick off 8pm (UAE)
How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
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Fixtures
Opening day Premier League fixtures for August 9-11
August 9
Liverpool v Norwich 11pm
August 10
West Ham v Man City 3.30pm
Bournemouth v Sheffield Utd 6pm
Burnley v Southampton 6pm
C Palace v Everton 6pm
Leicester v Wolves 6pm
Watford v Brighton 6pm
Tottenham v Aston Villa 8.30pm
August 11
Newcastle v Arsenal 5pm
Man United v Chelsea 7.30pm
