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Dubai turning into an education hub?

As UAE continues to invest in education, the potential to attract more students looks bright.

Anthony Cox and Dave Tucker (right) with representatives of the Ministry of Education, RAK. - Supplied photo

Dubai - As the UAE continues to focus on tourism and education, a leading education expert from the UK says the country’s continued efforts in drawing inspiration from the world’s leading education influencers means it could soon add ‘education hub’ to its list of successes.

Speaking on the sidelines of the GESS Education Exhibition at the World Trade Centre on Wednesday, English Language Teaching (ELT) expert, Dave Tucker, said the education tie-ups between the UK and UAE are greatly improving the sector here.

“During a previous visit to the UAE, I met with some officials from the Ministry of Education and we talked about English Language Teaching (ELT) materials and how they could benefit both expatriate and local children here.”

Invested in early learning education for more than 28 years, Tucker has been a teacher, trainer, director and school owner, but now concentrates on writing and editing ELT materials for different schools around the world, including more than a dozen in the UAE.

“The fact that the UAE is investing in successful overseas educational materials means it is on the right track. It has been proven time and time again that knowledge sharing in best practice can strengthen any country’s economic status, and that is where this country’s strength lies.”

Tucker recently partnered with Kaplan International — one of the world’s leading organisations in English language teaching — to produce the innovative programme, Picaro.

A blended learning course which takes young children from complete beginners in English to European level A2, Picaro engages both the teacher and child with well-designed material using both traditional and smart learning materials.

Currently being used in several schools across Ajman and Dubai, Tucker said though the programme is only new here, its staying power has been proven across the world.

“This programme caters to children from ages three up to nine and though it is new to the UAE and still growing, it has been proven to work in Korea, Columbia and Mexico, to name but a few.”

As well as providing both group and individual workbooks for students, and step-by-step guides for teachers on how to best implement the learning materials in the classroom, Picaro provides 960 games, either online or on a tablet, which encourages children to become autonomous learners as they experiment with the English language.

“The entire syllabus, including the games, has been entirely written by Kaplan. It’s incredibly self-motivating material,” Tucker said.

Some schools in the UAE have even implemented the programme as a complete English course as it is based around the Cambridge curriculum, he said.

Noted as one of the leading English language teaching materials of its kind, Picaro is the first in a series of programmes from Kaplan, and later this year it hopes to introduce similar educational tools for older students.

“We are working towards moving up the age scale. Hopefully at some point in 2015 a programme we are designing for 12 to 16-year-olds will be on the market.”

As the UAE continues to invest in its education sector, the potential to attract more overseas students in the future is looking more and more likely every day.

A recent study by HSBC also revealed that the cost of studying in the UAE amounts to an average of $27,375 per year, including university fees and living expenses.

Compared to its heavyweight counterparts including Australia, the US and the UK, which sees students forking out annual sums of $42,093, $36,564, $35,045, respectively, the UAE’s competitive price tag proves its potential in becoming a front runner in education.

Couple that with recent figures from the Unesco Institute of Statistics, showing the UAE houses around 34,122 inbound students against 7,719 outbound students, it reinforces the country’s status as one of the most sought-after education destinations in the world.

The GESS Education Exhibition concludes today. In attendance at Wednesday’s meet along with Tucker was Gulf Regional Manager of UK and UAE Education and Medical Services, Anthony Cox as well as a number of representatives from the Ministry of Education in Ras Al Khaimah.

kelly@khaleejtimes.com