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UAE: New system provides easier access to higher education, says minister

'We don’t want any students to be left behind,' said a ministry official

Published: Mon 18 Nov 2024, 10:31 PM

Updated: Mon 18 Nov 2024, 11:20 PM

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Applying for universities and scholarship programmes in the UAE will be much simpler, as per Dr Abdulrahman Al Awar Minister of Human Resources & Emiratization and acting minister of higher education and scientific research.

The new system rolled out over the past two months, NAPO2.0 and Scholarships 2.0, makes application and acceptance more flexible, removing complicated barriers that made it difficult for job seekers to finish their higher education.

“Our revised admission policies shift the focus from input-driven governance to a more flexible, outcome-oriented approach, empowering higher education institutions to design programmes that better prepare students for the demands of the job market, while building on the foundation of well-intentioned governance mechanisms,” said the minister.

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“Furthermore, this flexibility will be available to everyone who lives in the UAE, to requalify themselves,” he added.

Photo: Supplied

Photo: Supplied

"For example, we have noted around 67% of job seekers registered on the Nafis job seekers platform only have a high school degree. Furthermore, due to the tough admission criteria, nearly half of high school graduates were not eligible for higher education. These figures are expected to drastically improve with the introduction of the new policies and procedures," he explained.

“The previous system, while designed with good intentions to govern the quality of higher education, did not yield the desired outcomes in terms of providing sufficient higher education opportunities.” said the minister.

“We are revamping the admission policy while upscaling students, which will give us positive outcomes economically and socially,” said Shatha Al Aidarous, Senior Executive at the ministry.

The new process takes into consideration the majors that the students are applying for before denying a student admission over a low grade in an unrelated subject. Bridging courses can be provided to prevent students from being rejected from a desired programme.

“We don’t want any students to be left behind, we will track students who didn’t get any offers with matching programmes,” she added.

Schools will provide students guidance and support and ensure they register for their desired majors and universities while they are still in grade 11.

Meanwhile, universities and higher education institutions will now have more flexibility to set their own admission criterion and set their own time frames, following the cancellation of the standard admission test EmSAT.

“We all need to work hand in hand towards an effective student journey,” she concluded.

Dr Al Awar added that the Ministry is also focusing on enhancing the student journey through streamlined procedures and enhanced digital services; improving educational institutions’ flexibility by updating licensing and admission criteria and launching the national classification framework of UAE-based universities; aligning educational outcomes with labour market needs and leveraging partnerships with economic sectors; and continuously developing policies and procedures to achieve these goals.

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