Expat teachers are not taking Emirati jobs

Dr Hamad Mohammad Al Yahyaei opined that many courses have been brought into the public school curriculum, from creative design and innovation, to business programming, many of which are a first in any Arab country. - Photo by Mohammad Mustafa Khan

Dubai - Diversity is needed in schools to help prepare students for a better future.

Expatriate teachers are not here to take the jobs of qualified Emirati teachers; they are simply helping to create diversity in government schools, said Dr Hamad Mohammad Al Yahyaei, assistant undersecretary for curriculum and assessment sector at the Ministry of Education.
In an exclusive interview with Khaleej Times, Al Yahyaei was responding to questions that were raised during a recent Federal National Council (FNC) meeting, where members queried teacher ratios in public schools.
In April, the FNC had a heated debate with Jameela bint Salem Al Muhairi, Minister of State for Public Education, on unemployment rates among Emirati teachers. They said hiring expat teachers and leaving qualified Emiratis jobless is not helping students improve academically, citing that Emirati children are failing in "whopping numbers".
But Al Yahyaei told Khaleej Times the argument was based on one semester.  "Schools usually expect a drop in performance for the first quarter of the academic year because when a student is moving to the next grade, tackling new subjects, it's their first time being exposed to this. It takes time to build confidence. This is a global trend in schools."
To face the challenge, he said the ministry needs to analyse the overall performance of students at year-end, and only then can it get a clearer picture of what is going on. So to simply point the finger at foreign teachers for the "apparent failings" is not going to solve anything, he added.
"Raising the topic that we are bringing in too many expatriate teachers, and that is ultimately failing our students, is not a valid statement. We are a ministry; we are bringing in qualified teachers to promote a diverse education. The training process is rigorous too." 
And diversity is needed in schools to help prepare students for a better future, he said.
One issue raised by an FNC member during April's meeting was that hiring Emirati teachers can provide what foreign teachers cannot; Emirati values. But Al Yahyaei offered a rebuttal for this argument. 
"We work in a way to ensure local values and cultures will not be decimated, but we have to expose students to the cultures of others too," he said.  
"These expatriate teachers come here to instil that. They don't come in to take away our local values. They add value to the change that is needed here in public schools."
Statistics presented at the FNC revealed that the ministry hired 3,430 foreign teachers over the past year and a half, including 1,500 Westerners. However, no statistics were revealed on how many Emirati teachers were hired. And members argued that such hirings left "3,430 Emirati teachers unemployed".
However, with 65 per cent of teachers in the 650 public schools noted as Emirati, Al Yahyaei ensured they are the majority, and will remain that way.
"That's a very high number for the region. We have brought in 100 plus Emirati citizens to become teachers in the last academic year, but that is not enough to cover demand."

New curriculum, new teaching standards