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123Loto

Joined: 14 Aug 2006 Posts: 160
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Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 10:36 am Post subject: |
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Very much appreciated, thank you!!! |
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rdobbs98
Joined: 08 Oct 2010 Posts: 236
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Posted: Sun Feb 02, 2014 1:02 pm Post subject: |
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veiledsentiments wrote: |
rdobbs... are you in Abu Dhabi or one of the other Emirates? I'm wondering if the new system in Abu Dhabi is raising the skills of the locals in the public schools.
VS |
VS I am in Sharjah but have ties within Dubai as well. I don't have any news concerning Abu Dhabi yet. Thanks. |
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nomad soul

Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world
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Posted: Mon Feb 03, 2014 2:29 pm Post subject: |
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FNC resume discussions...
By Ola Salem, The National | 2 February 2014
Source: http://www.thenational.ae/uae/education/abandoned-women-and-scrapping-foundation-year-at-universities-on-fnc-agenda
(Edited to cut out unrelated topics)
ABU DHABI--Discussions on scrapping foundation year at state universities will resume on Tuesday at the Federal National Council. The questions were held over from last month, when ministers who were to be questioned did not appear.
The Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak, will also attend the session. Ali Al Nuaimi (Ajman) plans to question him about the Cabinet’s decision to abolish first year at universities, known as the foundation year. Mr Al Nuaimi said he would ask for a specific time frame for the changes, which would lower the financial burdens on universities.
The public session will be held at the FNC headquarters in Abu Dhabi, starting at 9am.
(End of article) |
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123Loto

Joined: 14 Aug 2006 Posts: 160
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Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 3:19 am Post subject: Foundation year at UAE state universities to be scrapped |
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Oh dear...
Foundation year at UAE state universities to be scrapped from 2018
The foundation year at state universities, which improves new students’ English-language skills so they can begin their degree courses, is to be scrapped from 2018.
Its abolition will require major changes in the curriculum for the final three years of secondary school to prepare pupils for university education.
Last year only 20 per cent were ready for direct entry to university at the federal institutions – although that was an increase from 16 per cent the year before and 3 per cent 10 years ago when entrance examinations were introduced. Pupils who pass the entry exams are exempt from the foundation year,
Many education experts have long urged the abolition of the foundation year: firstly to improve standards in high schools, and secondly to cut costs. Remedial education eats up a third of the higher education budget and diverts resources from degree courses.
http://www.thenational.ae/uae/education/foundation-year-at-uae-state-universities-to-be-scrapped-from-2018 |
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veiledsentiments

Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA
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Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 4:29 am Post subject: |
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More wishful thinking from the Ministry... they are going to fix a problem that has stayed the same for the last 30 years... in the next 4 years... by the theoretical upgrading of the last 3 years of secondary school?
Interesting times ahead... Just who is going to prepare these students in secondary school? Certainly not their current faculties...
The idea to have HCT do it made much more sense... though also unworkable.
VS |
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nomad soul

Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world
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Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 5:34 pm Post subject: |
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Here's the entire article:
Foundation year at UAE state universities to be scrapped from 2018
By Ola Salem and Melanie Swan, The National | 4 February 2014
Source: http://www.thenational.ae/uae/education/foundation-year-at-uae-state-universities-to-be-scrapped-from-2018
ABU DHABI // The foundation year at state universities, which improves new students' English-language skills so they can begin their degree courses, is to be scrapped from 2018. Its abolition will require major changes in the curriculum for the final three years of secondary school to prepare pupils for university education.
Last year only 20 per cent were ready for direct entry to university at the federal institutions - although that was an increase from 16 per cent the year before and 3 per cent 10 years ago when entrance examinations were introduced. Pupils who pass the entry exams are exempt from the foundation year. Many education experts have long urged the abolition of the foundation year: firstly to improve standards in high schools, and secondly to cut costs. Remedial education eats up a third of the higher education budget and diverts resources from degree courses.
The decision to scrap it was taken at a Cabinet retreat at the end of last year, as part of a wider education overhaul, and the 2018 deadline was confirmed by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak, the Minister of Higher Education, at the Federal National Council on Tuesday. A few years would be needed to revamp the education curriculum in grades 10, 11 and 12, Sheikh Hamdan told the council. "We are studying how to abolish this year with the Ministry of Education," he said.
Dr Christina Gkitsaki, head of foundations at Higher Colleges of Technology, said the elimination of the preparatory year by 2018 was manageable but must be done with a clear strategy. "It's a step in the right direction as we shouldn't be wasting higher education resources on language acquisition. The problem should be tackled before higher education. "If students are going to continue to study in English, there must be some kind of plan in place to raise the level of teaching of English in high schools if this is to happen by 2018. How much time students learn and practise a language is important so a plan towards that direction could achieve this goal. "Language acquisition isn't grasping complicated concepts. Intensive courses can have fast results."
A foundation teacher at Zayed University said that while the goal was manageable, much had to be done in schools, not only in relation to the English language. "What we're seeing is students who just aren't ready to study - their maturity, their willingness to work, attitude and general skills and subject knowledge in other areas such as maths and science. "There has been progress but that would have to be massively accelerated to allow for the programmes to be stopped by 2018. As universities, we can only work with what the high schools send us and the quality right now isn't sufficient to do away with foundations."
Dr Ahmad Alawar, director of Abu Dhabi Polytechnic, was positive about the decision, and saw it as feasible based on what he had seen since 2011 at the technical training institute. "We've seen a drop of one third of students needing foundations studies since we opened," he said. "The level of English language is definitely improving. I believe the academic programmes in high schools are in progression so by 2018 there will be no need for foundations as students will be able to speak English to a level where they can enter directly into university."
At the FNC, Ali Al Nuaimi (Ajman) said the foundation year was a burden on university students and their families, and accused some private companies of profiting at their expense with the tests needed to graduate from the preparatory year. "It costs around Dh900 to sit through an exam," he said. "In 2012, 14,000 students had undergone those tests. So around Dh14 million had been spent on these exams in one year. This is not including those who needed to re-sit the exams. This is a lot of expense on parents." He said the exams should be taken at secondary school, not at university. "I ask that you consider holding these exams at secondary schools, since there are English language tests at that level anyway," he said.
Sheikh Hamdan said the language exams were free for one entry per student at state universities and any form of "commercial abuse" was out of the hands of the ministry. Later Mr Al Nuaimi and members of the FNC's education committee decided to ask the Cabinet to study how the Ministry of Higher Education sets standards for university admission.
(End of article) |
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nomad soul

Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world
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Posted: Wed Feb 05, 2014 5:42 pm Post subject: |
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Also...
Challenges of abolishing foundation year in the UAE
By Asmaa Al Hameli & Mitya Underwood, The National | 5 February 2014
Source: http://www.thenational.ae/uae/education/challenges-of-abolishing-foundation-year-in-the-uae
So the decision to abolish the foundation year, which provides English-language coaching to thousands of federal univerity students, has proved popular with many. But it also raises a question – how best to replace it?
Introduced in the 1990s, the foundation year is a bridging programme for new university students to make sure their English meets degree entry requirements. It also teaches Arabic, maths and information technology, but it is English – the language used to teach in almost all universities – that takes the most time and resources.
For students, many of whom come from schools and homes where the main language is Arabic, spending the first year mastering English can prove a testing introduction to higher education. Umm Ahmed, for one, will be happy to see it go. The mother of three boys, she studied business at Al Ain University and graduated without a foundation year. “When I was a freshman, I faced difficulties coping with the new system and environment, which is expected,” says the 38-year-old from Abu Dhabi. Within a few months, though, she had risen to the new challenges. Now it is the turn of her eldest son Ahmed, in his final year at the Cambridge High School, to prepare for university. "There is no need for Ahmed to undergo an extra year of studies," his mother says. As she puts it: “It’s the responsibility of schools and teachers to prepare students for the university life. When you are a new employee in any company you ought to experience new things.”
When the foundation year is abolished in 2018, the responsibility for ensuring students meet degree standards will fall back on the school system. Many fear they will struggle to rise to the challenge as things stand. Figures released late last year through Pisa, the Programme for International Student Assessment, ranked the UAE 44 out of 65 in reading literacy. The international league table, produced by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, looked at the skills of 11,500 pupils aged 15 in 375 public and private schools across the country. About half of these were Emirati and therefore eligible to enrol in the three federal universities.
More local studies also show how much needs to be done. In its annual report, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority in Dubai found that only four out of 10 students had a good command of English, and only 16 per cent were outstanding. Rami Hamdan, who heads the foundation programme at UAE University in Al Ain, is a supporter of the extra year. “It develops 21st-century skills imperative to success in higher education,” he says. “These skills include problem solving, critical thinking, collaboration, communication, creativity and innovation, and are very much embedded in the curriculum. In addition, students are also able to develop career and life skills such as time management, leadership, accountability, flexibility and adaptability.”
The university’s own research shows that nearly eight out of 10 students – 77 per cent – need additional English support because they lack the necessary language skills, particularly reading and writing, to study for their degrees. In other subjects, seven out of 10 need extra help with maths to study at undergraduate level and 55 per cent take Arabic classes. The figures, Mr Hamdan says, make the case for the foundation year.
Not all students require a foundation year. At the Higher Colleges of Technology in Abu Dhabi, students are tested on admission. Depending on their level of competence, they might spend between one and four terms taking extra classes to bring them up to degree-admission standards. To graduate from the programme the students must earn a certain grade in the International English Language Testing System, which is part owned by the British Council. For those who struggle even to meet the foundation entry standards, the HCT also offers pre-foundation courses.
One concern is that those who are able to afford private education have an advantage when going to university. Amal Thabet, who taught in a government high school in Ajman for 15 years and now works for a university in Sharjah, says privately educated students are “unfairly privileged”. "But those educated in state schools may excel in certain areas, even if their English is not strong," she says. “Those who graduate from government schools where Arabic is enforced are proven to be more profound in what they know in subjects like calculus, geography and biology,” Ms Thabet says.
Even so, the challenge for non-English speakers is evident in how school standards are assessed. According to Abu Dhabi Education Council only one Arabic school is rated “good”. Every school rated “good” or above teaches in English.
Ms Thabet remembers one pupil at her former public school who achieved 97 per cent overall on graduation, only to fail his first term at university. “This shouldn’t be the case, she says. “Students can get depressed and in many cases go off and change their course to law, for example, because it is taught in Arabic.” Her view is that students required to study in a language that is not their own lose their creativity. “In Germany they teach in German. In Japan they teach in Japanese, and their nations are very productive. “I have noticed how some students who graduated from Arabic-taught government schools used to read poetry and write stories, but after two years of being immmersed in an English curriculum they lost their touch and relationship with Arabic,” she says. At the same time, scrapping the foundation year without a substantial improvement in the teaching of English and related foundation-year subjects in schools increases the risks that more students will drop out or fail when they reach university.
What Umm Ahmed would like to see is a better balance between the two languages in the education system. As a mother she wants to make sure her sons can speak their native tongue eloquently but also wants them to be fluent in English so they can continue their studies. First she took Hamad, 14, and Khalid, 13, out of their English-speaking private school and put them into the state system. But she was not happy with the results and will go back to the private system next year. “Both of them are suffering. I am going to change to private school next year,” she says.
(End of article) |
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veiledsentiments

Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA
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Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 3:13 am Post subject: |
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Quote: |
those educated in state schools may excel in certain areas, even if their English is not strong," she says. “Those who graduate from government schools where Arabic is enforced are proven to be more profound in what they know in subjects like calculus, geography and biology,” Ms Thabet says.
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Profound? Wonder what she means by that... presumably they would have memorized more facts, but that certainly doesn't make for deep thinkers.
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Ms Thabet remembers one pupil at her former public school who achieved 97 per cent overall on graduation, only to fail his first term at university. “This shouldn’t be the case, she says. |
After my experience with their system that doesn't surprise me. Not to mention that this isn't unusual anywhere in the world. The maturity level for so many of these students is so low, that a Foundations course to prepare them is not just for the low English skills.
I don't see how they could possibly fix this issue in 4 years outside of Abu Dhabi where they have been working on re-organizing the public schools for the last few years already. So they have a jump on the process.
VS |
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mateacher
Joined: 07 Sep 2013 Posts: 180
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Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 3:49 am Post subject: |
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so what is going to happen to all the EFL teachers in the UAE? will there still be enough jobs to go round?
I was hoping to go to TESOL arabia this year, but looks like it might not be worth it?
Or will they scrap the foundation and replace it with something else which is basically the same with a different name? |
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TheMagician
Joined: 14 Jan 2013 Posts: 6
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Posted: Thu Feb 06, 2014 7:37 pm Post subject: |
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2018 could easily stretch to 2028. Then again I wonder if any one in central has thought about the gratuity liability that will have to be met by letting so many instructors go in one hit. Could well lead to increased pressure to teach degrees in Arabic. |
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veiledsentiments

Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA
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Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 2:44 am Post subject: |
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mateacher wrote: |
so what is going to happen to all the EFL teachers in the UAE? will there still be enough jobs to go round?
I was hoping to go to TESOL arabia this year, but looks like it might not be worth it?
Or will they scrap the foundation and replace it with something else which is basically the same with a different name? |
I would guess that there will still be plenty of jobs for TEFLers. Someone will have to teach them English... whether the teachers are employed by the secondary or tertiary institutions... or perhaps a bunch of new prep schools or maybe back to the idea of it being done at HCT.
VS |
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johnslat

Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 13859 Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
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Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 3:53 am Post subject: |
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I wouldn't be surprised if it transmorphed under another name: Transitions, Developmental Studies - some other nice-sounding euphemism.
Regards,
John |
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nomad soul

Joined: 31 Jan 2010 Posts: 11454 Location: The real world
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Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 3:33 pm Post subject: |
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Cultivating the right mindset for study matters
Editorial, The National | 5 February 2014
Source: http://www.thenational.ae/thenationalconversation/editorial/cultivating-the-right-mindset-for-study-matters
Higher education requires maturity, desire to learn, and curiosity to explore and discover the world around us. But, unfortunately, many members of the new generations around the world don’t seem to possess that as much as the generations that came before them. Some studies have shown significant generational gaps in education and work attitudes in general.
Many young adults graduating from high schools are not ready to take responsibility and learn for themselves. And this is critical to consider here in the UAE when implementing the recent decision to scrap the foundation year at state universities. As The National reported yesterday, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak, the Minister of Higher Education confirmed at the FNC meeting on Tuesday that the decision by the cabinet to abolish the foundation year at state universities, which improves new students’ English-language skills before they join different colleges, will come into effect starting from 2018.
The abolition alone could not work of course without answering a fundamental question: Does the current school system provide students with sufficient English skills to join their major studies immediately? Although the statistics have been improving, only 20 per cent of students were ready for direct entry to university at federal institutions last year. This means that by 2018, the English teaching standards at secondary high schools will have to be highly improved in order to close the gap.
But there is also another critical question to be asked here: Would high school graduates be mature enough by the time they join universities? As a foundation teacher at Zayed University told The National, there are many young students “who just aren’t ready to study” and have insufficient levels of maturity and willingness to work and gain general skills and knowledge in some areas, such as maths and science.
While it is the responsibility of parents to be firm in teaching their children how to get more serious, control themselves and accept personal accountability, the mandatory military training introduced recently by the UAE Cabinet could also play a role in shaping young male adults’ character. And so it should be required at the time between secondary school and college. The country and the young themselves would benefit from it.
(End of editorial) |
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veiledsentiments

Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA
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Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 4:06 pm Post subject: |
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Make any young male who can't pass the entry exams to university spend a year in the military? That may help their maturity, but who's going to teach them English (Hello TEFLers... here you go).
OK... now... what about the girls? Parents are NOT going to allow them to be drafted into the military.
VS |
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peripatetic_soul
Joined: 20 Oct 2013 Posts: 303
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Posted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 11:12 pm Post subject: Foundation year to be or not to be |
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hello, all,
I don't think the real pressing issue here concerns whether Foundations will be scrapped but in view of recent articles in The National (about public school teachers, particularly locals), the more immediate issue is the salary package. Now, many salary quotes also include housing. Let's face it-- Once you arrive in the far Middle East, jetlagged, and unfamiliar with a uniquely different culture and navigating in an unfamiliar territory with thirsty landlords, finding affordable, suitable housing can be a precarious experience. The cost can be prohibitive and quality compromising. Don't think for a minute the landlord will fix your malfunctioning a-c in the desert heat as soon as you like. Also, as other posters have mentioned, there are huge utility deposits (I never got mine reimbursed in spite of documentation; "deposit" is a misnomer). Newbies - be aware of the new package deals being offered. In view of the changes observed among the local teachers who are disgruntled, be prepared for more cutbacks and downsizing. Ex-pats are the paid servants, formerly highly paid. Best of luck. |
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