A good education is the key to a child’s future. That is acknowledged fact. But a good education relies on good schools – and ensuring high standards is a challenge in the UAE, where there is a mix of public and private schools and different curriculums that cater to students of as many as 200 nationalities. For those charged with this duty, it means making hard decisions – such as the penalties imposed this week by the Abu Dhabi Education Council, which froze new admissions at 24 schools that had consistently failed to reach the required standards.
The decision was not taken lightly and followed a strict process of inspections and warnings. None of the schools in question should be in any doubt as to why this dramatic step has been taken. It does, of course, create a problem for parents who were hoping to enrol their children in one of these schools. Adec has advised them to seek out schools that offer quality education – but this may be more easily said than done. Families choose schools for several reasons: including affordability, geographic location and appropriate curriculum. It may be that they cannot afford, or cannot easily access, a higher-ranked school. And it is often the case that the best schools don’t have vacancies.
For these reasons, we should look at ways to bring at least some of the underperforming schools back from the brink. Parents and community members could play a role by raising funds or volunteering their time and effort to their local school. There might also be room for another stance. Having identified the problems with these schools, the authorities could also be a part of the solution by offering the expertise to get them back on track. This could involve sending in specialists to correct administrative problems and to raise standards among teachers.
Some schools may be irredeemable, but others might just need some outside help. While it is true that private schools are businesses that deserve to fail if they are not good enough, saving some of them in this manner would work for the common good, preventing disruption to pupils, their families and entire communities.