The UAE government must do more to address a growing shortage of government schools for Emiratis, an FNC member has said.
Hamad Al Rahoomi, deputy speaker of the Federal National Council, said residents moving to new developments and new communities often found a lack of suitable options.
In some instances, he said parents had no choice but send their children to closer, more expensive private schools to avoid lengthy commutes.
Meanwhile, pupils unable to afford higher tuition fees were forced to travel longer distances to government schools which were often crowded.
Some parents transferred children to private schools and those who couldn't afford it had to send them to a public school with overcrowded classrooms
“Public schools have become [half] empty in old neighbourhoods like Al Wuhaida and Al Hamriya [in Dubai] where many nationals used to live,” said Mr Al Rahoomi.
"They are operating with half the capacity now.
“They [new developments] have all kinds of services like Emirates Post. But the ministry hasn’t opened public schools there so private schools took their place.”
Mr Al Rahoomi made his remarks to Hussain Al Hammadi, the Minister of Education, at the first FNC session held this year.
He stressed that families who had recently moved to new neighbourhoods only to find a shortage of suitable government schools now faced a real dilemma.
Parents, he said, could either opt for congested, lengthy school runs to government schools further afield or pay private school fees closer to home.
He said that in Dubai, areas like Al Khawaneej 1 and 2, Al Mizhar and Al Tewar were all examples of large Emirati populations where few government schools existed.
Addressing the FNC on Tuesday, Mr Al Rahoomi revealed the number of public schools in Dubai had dropped by seven to 71 since 2015.
But he noted the number of private schools in the emirate over the same period had increased from 169 to 209, a rise of 23 per cent.
He also gave figures suggesting the number of Emiratis attending private schools was rising.
He said 33,630 Emirati pupils were registered at Dubai private schools last year, compared with 31,000 in 2015.
The issue of government school shortages appears to be a nationwide problem.
The National spoke to a number of parents in other emirates who agreed more public schools needed to be built.
“I have a boy and a girl who used to go to Zamzam School in Al Kharan,” said Umm Khaled, an Emirati mother of six who lives in Al Fahlen in RAK.
“When the ministry decided to close the school last year all the parents faced issues in finding a place for their children.
“Some parents transferred children to private schools and those who couldn’t afford it had to send them to a public school with overcrowded classrooms.
“I couldn’t move them to a private school so I had to enrol them in Al Kharan School.
“There are other schools but they are considered far away from our house and I don’t want my children to spend too much time on the bus.”
Ahmed Al Saddi, a 43-year-old Emirati father of 10 from Al Raheeb in Fujairah, said there was clearly a demand for more government schools.
He said one of his children who attends Al Bidyah public school spent about four hours a day commuting.
“He arrives home exhausted and there is no other option as the school he used to go to near our place has been closed,” he said.
“There are 30 pupils in my son’s class and that is considered a lot. I don’t think the teachers can handle such a high number in one class.”
At the FNC session, Mr Al Hammadi agreed to consider the issue closely.
In respect of Dubai, he said two new “educational complexes” were being built in Al Mizhar and Al Barsha.
He also said the ministry had plans in place to increase the number of public schools across the whole country.
“There hasn’t been a single Emirati pupil who applied to a public school and was rejected,” he told members.
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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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Sri Lanka v England
First Test, at Galle
England won by 211
Second Test, at Kandy
England won by 57 runs
Third Test, at Colombo
From Nov 23-27
Day 3, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Lahiru Gamage, the Sri Lanka pace bowler, has had to play a lot of cricket to earn a shot at the top level. The 29-year-old debutant first played a first-class game 11 years ago. His first Test wicket was one to savour, bowling Pakistan opener Shan Masood through the gate. It set the rot in motion for Pakistan’s batting.
Stat of the day – 73 Haris Sohail took 73 balls to hit a boundary. Which is a peculiar quirk, given the aggressive intent he showed from the off. Pakistan’s batsmen were implored to attack Rangana Herath after their implosion against his left-arm spin in Abu Dhabi. Haris did his best to oblige, smacking the second ball he faced for a huge straight six.
The verdict One year ago, when Pakistan played their first day-night Test at this ground, they held a 222-run lead over West Indies on first innings. The away side still pushed their hosts relatively close on the final night. With the opposite almost exactly the case this time around, Pakistan still have to hope they can salvage a win from somewhere.
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Company name: BorrowMe (BorrowMe.com)
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Funding stage: Seed investment
Initial investment: $200,000
Investors: Amr Manaa (director, PwC Middle East)
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4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
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MATCH INFO
BRIGHTON 0
MANCHESTER UNITED 3
McTominay 44'
Mata 73'
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5pm: Reem Island – Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Farasah, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Musabah Al Muhairi
5.30pm: Sir Baniyas Island – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: SSR Ghazwan, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
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7pm: Yas Island – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 2,200m; Winner: AF Mukhrej, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7.30pm: Saadiyat Island – Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 2,400m; Winner: Celestial Spheres, Gary Sanchez, Ismail Mohammed
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This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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The alternatives
• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.
• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.
• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.
• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.
• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
