An Uber Moment For The UAE’s Education Sector Is Possible

As I start my 17th year in the UAE, I’m fortunate enough to be able to reflect on historical trends in the private and public education sector from the last two decades.  

I’ve witnessed – and contributed to – the growth of the sector, with the development and expansion of private schools, and the variety of curricula on offer here in the UAE, which has enabled the evolution of parent choice as a driver for quality.  

Back in 2009, I organized the first Inclusion Conference in Abu Dhabi at a time when such conversations mainly happened in private. I was also responsible for managing some of the first wave of licensed teachers – 600 American and Canadian teachers parachuted in to teach English in the UAE public school system – as part of one of the UAE’s first public-private partnerships that saw international groups operate UAE government schools. I also remember the first wave of school inspections across the country! 

It's common knowledge that Dubai’s positive image as an international business hub, particularly post the COVID-19 pandemic, has enabled the recent growth in the student population. Dubai’s education regulator, i.e. the Knowledge and Human Development Authority, reported 12 percent student population growth between November 2022 and November 2023.  

At the same time, we’re seeing new communities emerge in Abu Dhabi that require schools and nurseries. We’re also seeing a huge uplift in the northern Emirates, because of improved business conditions and emerging communities that offer similar amenities to Dubai and Abu Dhabi.   

The sector will continue to grow, and new schools will emerge, which is not dissimilar to past cycles. However, certain aspects of the sector have not evolved at the same rate, such as the teacher training industry, and the way in which we view online and blended learning. Both areas present significant opportunities for innovation.  

Opportunity #1: The Teacher Training Industry 

The ongoing discourse on the teacher recruitment crisis in the UAE seems never-ending, with the same solutions revisited over the past 15 years. You are guaranteed to see the same headlines every year: “teacher recruitment shortage,” or “schools struggling to recruit teachers.”  

So, why hasn’t it changed? Demographic dogma.  

Allow me to explain. As a result of the diversity of schools in the UAE, each curriculum follows its country or curriculum qualifications pathway, which means that schools within each system are bound to another country or curriculum’s rules and challenges elsewhere.  

And no one has been bold enough yet to address this glaring opportunity.  

Dubai has world beating results in international benchmarking assessments in Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), and Program for International Student Assessment (PISA). Some of Dubai’s schools have been consistently rated “outstanding” by the local inspection bureau.  

However, the current system demands that a new teacher must attend a university to gain a teaching qualification, which is costly, and then spend a year in a school gaining experience before being granted the title of “qualified teacher.” 

In my time in the UAE, I have seen firsthand the untapped workforce – professionals in every other industry, and crucially, highly educated and qualified women, who perhaps had a career in a particular industry, but may not wish to continue their second career in that same sector.  

Keeping this premise in mind, I strongly advocate for empowering the UAE’s outstanding schools with the autonomy to design their own teaching qualifications. This approach would enable them to attract professionals from different sectors, tapping into an extensive pool of qualified individuals currently outside the teaching workforce. Keep the current pathway, sure, but add an additional pathway – and some welcome competition for the universities.  

After all, the UAE has never been known for complacency.  

Establishing a framework to recognize workplace learning could expedite the entry of the untapped workforce into the teaching profession. Note also that the current solutions are costly, and they have also fallen far short of resolving the problem. 

The UAE has some genuinely world-leading schools, if judged by their academic results, university destinations, alumni networks, and general achievements across the board. These schools are phenomenal, and by design, their recruitment and professional learning practices are incredibly rigorous, because their reputation depends on it. If they weren’t performing to this level, the parents would leave, and their income would be reduced.  

There is thus an immediate accountability directly linked to the quality they provide. These schools are more than capable of designing teacher training pathways that tap into an existing workforce in the UAE that is not currently in teaching. These pathways could easily be validated by either a regulator or a higher education partner.  

These schools already have quality systems in place, and they could leverage their existing staff to offer an alternative pathway to ones that already exist. 

Opportunity #2: Online And Blended Learning  

The second major opportunity within the K-12 system is the online and blended learning space.  

Before the COVID-19 crisis, online or virtual schools were seen as niche, but since the pandemic, the industry has grown.  

If we’re serious about changing the workplace to a more flexible environment, with time spent in and out of the office, then naturally there is a knock-on effect to other parts of life.  

The Government of Dubai recently encouraged public and private companies to implement flexible working arrangements to relieve traffic and congestion. This naturally has a knock-on effect because if those same people are working from home, but still leave the home to pick their children up from school, then schools need to catch up.

Dubai has seen a huge uptick in digital nomads, many of whom are travelling parents who spend time in different countries at different times of the year.  

If we’re serious about giving people agency and choice within their lives, then we need to also be serious about recognizing online and blended learning as a genuine option for parents.  

The UK government has already gone down this route, and it has developed a set of standard guidelines for online schools. The Council of British International Schools (COBIS) has also recognized an online school based out of the UK.  

International universities recognize accredited online schools; yet, within the UAE, their status is not yet recognized through a national policy. However, this is the same UAE that has pioneered developments in technology and artificial intelligence within government services, amongst a host of other domains. The UAE, therefore, has the opportunity to be a leader in this space, and be the first of its kind in the region.  

So, is the UAE ready for its Uber in education moment? 

I believe it is, because schools serve the community, and since the pandemic, there has been a seismic shift in mindsets and perceptions about what is right for children and for adults in the workplace.  

Also, since the COVID-19 crisis, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has emerged as a serious destination of choice for international education. The energy is palpable, and its demographic makeup offers a myriad of opportunities for educators, parents, and children alike. Changes are happening very quickly.  

As the KSA thus works through its own journey of innovation, I’m privileged to be able to witness its growth in parallel to the UAE’s, and see how lessons from the past are translated into innovations in the present.  

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Shaun Robison is a senior education professional who has worked in the international education space for 16 years with governments, investors, real estate developers, schools, educators, and parents. He has worked as a C-suite professional for 10 years, and grown several businesses in the Middle East that are now flourishing. 

Shaun has worked within mergers and acquisitions with a variety of funds and private offices and has worked regionally with major GCC governments as an advisor. Shaun has also worked with the world’s best architects to design schools of all shapes and sizes, and works to industry benchmarks for design and build. 

Shaun holds a PhD from Newcastle University, and he has presented academic policy papers on school improvement, teacher training, action research, professional learning, and research methodologies at various international education conferences across the Middle East.  

He is also a Governor for IDEA Early Learning Center and a regular contributor to the Business Breakfast Show on Dubai Eye Radio.