Gulf News readers believe that the current education system is lacking in practical coursework, which essentially prepares students for the real world.
Mohammad Moinul Haque, a treasury manager based in Abu Dhabi, is one of them. With the changing economic and political situations around the world, Haque is convinced that the curriculum at schools and universities is not doing enough.
The father of two said: “The world is changing, but the curriculum remains centuries old. The world is a single village and students need to be taught about inclusiveness. But, most educational systems are focused on geographical traditions. For example, an Indian school would focus on Indian values and likewise in a European school. This creates division.”
As far as homework is concerned, Haque believes that it’s not serving any purpose. In his opinion, students should be spending the time on other educational activities. “The home shouldn’t be an extension of your school,” he said.
Dhara Bhatia, a student based in Dubai, is peeved by how a lot of her peers end up “memorising from textbooks”. In her experience, students, especially those in business programmes at universities, have had to go through training when joining the workforce.
She said: “My sister has a finance degree, but then she got a job as an accountant. She had to go through strict training, starting from scratch.”
At university, Bhatia is studying journalism and is glad that they offer “hands on experience, from internships to making documentaries”. She hopes that educational institutes would place more importance on such programmes and less on homework.
Another issue of concern is the pressure that is experienced by students to succeed. Vivian Marcelino, an administration officer based in Abu Dhabi, has children attending school in the Philippines. After graduating, she hopes to bring them to the UAE. However, she says it’s going to be a tough journey.
She said: “It’s very difficult for the children who want to graduate with honours and a lot of pressure is placed on them. My daughter has to keep her grades up and also excel on the table tennis team, because both these factors are important for getting scholarships at universities.”
Mohammad G. Tahboub, a student based in Dubai, agrees that there is a lot of competition at the university level and is concerned that many institutions don’t help students gain any extracurricular experience.
He said: “There are thousands of applicants applying with the same grades as you, so there’s a lot of pressure and at times you almost give up. For example, when your classmates get accepted into universities and you’re waiting, that’s a stressful time.”
