DUBAI // Girls in public schools outperform boys in the classroom because they get a better standard of education, a report says.
Dubai had the third-highest disparity between genders in science of 65 countries tested by the Programme for International Student Assessment (Pisa), with girls scoring an average of 27 points more than boys in public and private schools.
"The [public] schools vary in quality to a large extent," said Mike Helal, the director for the Middle East and North Africa at Parkville Global Advisory, which compiled a Pisa report for the emirate's education authority.
"The all-girl public schools benefit from better teachers, improved methods and a higher quality of leadership."
Comprehensive results and an analysis of the standardised tests, which were taken by UAE private and public-school pupils for the first time in 2009, were released by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) yesterday.
The Pisa language, maths and science tests recorded a gender gap in many countries, but Dubai's report found a much wider disparity.
Girls scored 51 more points on average in reading literacy than boys, whereas the average difference found by Pisa globally was 39 points.
There was no significant difference between the sexes in mathematics. The Parkville Global Advisory report said the disparity was most pronounced among public school pupils.
"There is a strong correlation between the curriculum and the magnitude of the gender divide," it stated.
At public schools, male pupils fell 82 points behind their female peers in reading. The report suggested this could be attributed to the improved learning at female-only schools.
The report also suggested the process by which pupils were made to repeat a class if they failed slowed down male progress.
"There is a significantly higher number of male pupils who are held back through continuous failure in comparison to female pupils," it said.
"Many are at least one year behind in school. This retention method, in fact, reduces the likelihood of pupils catching up in skills that can be acquired with every additional grade level."
Mr Helal said 15-year-old pupils were expected to be in Grade 10 according to the UAE system, but many Emirati boys of that age were still in Grade 9.
Dr Naji Al Mahdi, the executive director of the National Institute for Vocational Education in Dubai, agreed with Parkville's findings and said he blamed the poor performance of male pupils on the "shortcut options" available. "Boys know they can still get some government jobs without completing their high-school education and that kills their motivation to do well or excel," said Dr Al Mahdi.
"A lot of them just drop out, find the easy route and that is the same example they set for their children."
He said social factors might also drive young women in the region to perform better.
"For many national girls the only chance they get to socialise outside the home is when they are studying or working. This becomes a strong incentive," Dr Al Mahdi said.
"Also, there is a push here to get women educated and that is why we see a majority move on to university, which is not the case with boys."
Compared with schools following the national curriculum, International Baccalaureate schools had the lowest gender variation, the report showed.
KHDA will be sending results to each of the 134 schools that participated in the Pisa test, and will share the full results with education officials for policy recommendations.
Fatma Al Janahi, the head of international assessment at the KHDA, said the process had helped the authority to evaluate standards in different schools and provided a comparison of the effectiveness of different curriculums.
"Pupils' performance is linked to their personal, home and school factors, which allows us to understand how they learn and acquire skills within that context," she said.
Schools in Abu Dhabi and the Northern Emirates took the Pisa last year and expect to receive their results later this year.
aahmed@thenational.ae
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Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
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Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
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Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
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Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
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RESULTS
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What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
JOKE'S%20ON%20YOU
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Match info
Uefa Nations League Group B:
England v Spain, Saturday, 11.45pm (UAE)
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
What is a black hole?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Results
Stage 7:
1. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal - 3:18:29
2. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep - same time
3. Phil Bauhaus (GER) Bahrain Victorious
4. Michael Morkov (DEN) Deceuninck-QuickStep
5. Cees Bol (NED) Team DSM
General Classification:
1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates - 24:00:28
2. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers - 0:00:35
3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep - 0:01:02
4. Chris Harper (AUS) Jumbo-Visma - 0:01:42
5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo - 0:01:45
Omar Yabroudi's factfile
Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah
Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University
2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship
2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy
2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment
2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment
2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager
Living in...
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.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
