Overhaul planned for every classroom

ABU DHABI // When Dr Mugheer al Khaili took over the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec) in May, three years after it was formed, the authority was already well on its way to reinventing education in the emirate.

A new K-12 curriculum was adopted by almost a quarter of Abu Dhabi's 305 public schools, plans for New York University's Abu Dhabi campus were under way, and the Public Private Partnership (PPP) for Public School Management - an ambitious school reform programme aimed at changing teaching methodology and emphasising English instruction - was up and running in 61 PPP schools and a handful of Model schools.

Adec was created in November 2005 as part of the federal strategy to decentralise education and encourage private sector involvement in schools and universities. But the appointment of Dr Khaili was part of a larger transition for the council. Adec was given further authority when Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, issued a law to restructure the duties of the education council. It was granted additional authority to supervise education zones and schools, create and implement standards for education organisations, and set a comprehensive policy for the education sector.

Moves to decentralise the way education is managed are set to continue in the coming years, giving local authorities more control over school management. The council - like its Dubai equivalent, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority - works with the ministries to co-ordinate strategies within the framework of the UAE's federal education policy. Dr Khaili, who has a PhD in business administration from Ain Shams University in Egypt, served as Adec's assistant secretary general and was a member of the Federal National Council for a year before he became the Adec's director general. He was the secretary general of UAE University from 2005 to last year, and spent a decade early in his career working in the special department of Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan, the nation's founder.

A number of major projects have begun since Dr Khaili took over, including two initiatives to address the state of facilities that serve poorer students. In May, Adec took over management of all 305 public schools from the Ministry of Education, along with 146 private schools. Adec is now responsible for overseeing the education of 27,700 Emiratis and 104,100 expatriates. Soon after the council took control of private schools, it launched an investigation into conditions at 66 villa schools - where the children of many low-income expatriates are educated. The council expects to complete its survey of those schools by next month, and develop a plan to relocate students to better facilities within three years.

Dr Khaili said Adec plans to help all schools, including international schools, that are struggling to find affordable land. The council also plans to unveil a new application process for private schools seeking to open a campus in Abu Dhabi. "We are going to help every school in any way that we can because we need more schools," he said. "But for sure the excellent schools will have more support because we need better education."

The council also plans to phase out evening schools within the next three years. These operate from public schools after-hours, serving some 8,000 children of expatriate Arabs who cannot afford to send them to private schools. "These schools really give very little instruction to the children," said Dr Khaili. He concedes there are "a lot of challenges" facing Abu Dhabi schools. The UAE ranked 77th out of 132 countries on this year's Knowledge Economy Index, which was compiled by the World Bank. The UAE also lags behind countries with "world-class school systems", offering less than 900 hours of instructional time to their 1,100 hours, an expert said.

A report from the consultancy firm McKinsey and Company released last year found that top-performing schools all over the world have one thing in common: good teachers. "The only way to improve outcomes is to improve instruction," said the report. Teacher qualifications are not what they are elsewhere in the world - most teachers in the public school system do not have teaching degrees, something the Ministry of Education and Adec are working to improve with a new licensing system.

The council is now developing two important policy initiatives: adopting a strategic plan and setting an overarching policy agenda for education. "We are planning for the future," said Dr Khaili. @Email:klewis@thenational.ae