Education in the UAE

Introduction

Education plays a precious role key in every nation, therefore each nation has its history of education process. The UAE has developed so much and in various ways in the education process. However we should not forget the early learning methods of  this country. Nowadays education has evolved massively and it is so much more modern than before.

History of education

The early education in the UAE was so primitive. The people in the early days did not know how to read and write, therefore the only education they had was reading the holy Qurran. The teacher before was a person called a motawa and his responsibility was teaching older people and young children how to read, write and basic math. Al motawa had another job also which was educating the behavior of children. Teaching sessions were in the mosque or sometimes in a place called alareesh. Alareesh is built using palm fronds.  The writing tools in the early days of education were charcoal which was used to write with, Although they had the writing tool they also needed something to write on so here comes the part of animals skins. In order to make animal skin useable for writing they put salt on it until it become suede and after that they can write on it. When foreigners came to the UAE in the past they had a huge impact in education by teaching them a different language and the most important thing which is writing. After the UAE independence in 1970, which was given to them by Britain, education took a huge turn into prosperity.

Education nowadays

Since 1971, until this day the learning process became much more modern than before. Schools, universities, colleges and learning institutions have opened through the rising of the country’s economy. Today learning involves many subjects such as math, chemistry, biology, geography and much more. Nevertheless we should not forget that technology plays a serious role, therefore students now use the internet to help them find and gather information plus it is easy to use. The learning environment is more distinct than before in ways that help the student to learn and produce the knowledge he or she had received efficiently. In the early times all who wanted to learn must go to the mosques; however now they have libraries, classrooms and lecture halls. Never forget to mention that the public education is free for male and female citizen children through the university level. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_the_United_Arab_Emirates). Nowadays people can learn from their houses by applying online to different universities and colleges. HCT college uses technology to help in the learning process. They use e-books, online testing and power point presentations to teach their students and this year they are using apple ipads.

Education in future

Sheikh Zayed, Allah rest his soul, noted “The greatest use that can be made of wealth is to invest it in creating generations of educated and trained people.”, therefore the UAE government is investing a lot of money on education just to evolve and develop the methods of education. In my point of view education in the future will be different. New technologies will be used to educate the future students. An annual education conference was conducted to discuss the future of the UAE education. Dr. Samia Al Farra, the chief education officer at Taaleem has talked about the value of hearing the students out. She has also looked at a study that was developed in Harvard University called "What do school students need?". According to the Harvard research, some of the responses given by students included: : ‘Take me seriously,' ‘Challenge me to think,' ‘Let me do it my way,' ‘Build on my interests,' ‘Encourage me to be creative,' ‘Let me feel I am important,' and ‘Get the best out of me.'(http://www.gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/education/a-vision-for-the-future-of-the-uae-education-1.692849ulfnews.com).

Conclusion

In conclusion I can say that education in the UAE has developed so much more than before. In the past it was primitive and it kept on evolving until these days. Education in the UAE will never stop developing thanks to new technologies which play some part in that. In my opinion investing in education was never the wrong choice because it helps to have innovative, creative and efficient younger minds.

 

References

·         Education in the UAE | UAE Embassy in Washington, DC. (n.d.). Welcome to the UAE Embassy in Washington, DC | UAE Embassy in Washington, DC. Retrieved May 28, 2013, from http://www.uae-embassy.org/uae/education

·         Shammaa, D. E. (2012, October 7). A vision for the future of the UAE education.www.gulfnews.com. Retrieved May 26, 2013, from www.gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/education/a-vision-for-the-future-of-the-uae-education-1.692849

·         Salama, S. (2012, October 2). UAE launches a knowledge revolution.www.gulfnews.com. Retrieved May 26, 2013, from http://www.gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/education/uae-launches-a-knowledge-revolution-1.1084275

·         Education in the United Arab Emirates - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (n.d.).Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Retrieved May 28, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_th

·         Education System in Abu Dhabi. (n.d.).www.abudhabi.ae. Retrieved May 27, 2013, from https://www.abudhabi.ae/egovPoolPortal_WAR/appmanager/ADeGP/Citizen?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=p19654&lang=en

·         Subaihi, T. A. (2012, October 17). The UAE education system is changing for the better Read more: http://www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/the-uae-education-system-is-changing-for-the-better#ixzz2UafAV9xv Follow us: @TheNationalUAE on Twitter | thenational.ae on Facebook.http://www.thenational.ae/. Retrieved May 27, 2013, from www.thenational.ae/lifestyle/the-uae-education-system-is-changing-for-the-better