Growth prospects and developing positive trends are making UAE a favorable hub for investments & private organizations to enter & improve quality of education. For more information visit http://www.customerservice.ae

1. Is the education sector of UAE serving its customers well?
UAE is currently working very hard and trying to come up with reforms and measures to improve the
standards of its educations sector and serve its customers well. The question remains whether UAE is
giving enough attention to the needs of improving the education sector and providing the customer’s
value for the investment they are making. The continuous growth prospects and developing positive
trends are making UAE a favorable hub for foreign investments and private organizations to enter the
UAE education sector and improve the quality of education that is made available to its citizens.
UAE is looking into changing the dynamics of its economy to a diverse economy whose ability is not
based on oil- profits, but sectors like education and healthcare, which lead to a more stable economy
and prosperous growth without having to use the reserves of oil. Analyses of the education industry also
show us the sector lacks innovation and critical thinking skills and requires more focus on the theory of
knowledge.
There are multiple organizations and conferences that are being held in UAE to cater to the increasing
demand of better education quality and soaring rates of unemployment. The government is trying its
best to come up with reforms that focus on the needs of the customers and provide them complete
satisfaction for the service of education that they want to invest in.
Organizations and conferences working towards improving education service
Najah
The seventh edition of Najah, Education, Training and careers fair is planning on focusing on the
multiples issues of fresh graduates who fail to find employment in the UAE due to multiple reasons and
how to provide them with better options of training and education opportunities so they can serve
themselves and the businesses well. Students will be using this as a platform to hunt for better careers
and training skills after finishing their high school so they are able to better secure their futures and gain
exposure from the conference.
There are many foreign players who are also participating in this conference and wish to contribute their
insight on the service of the education sector and how to improve it for all the Emiratis as well as the
expats that are currently living in the UAE.
Many international parties, like Australia, Malaysia and the US, Japan was participating for the first time
and had a lot to contribute towards the academic goals of UAE. Yuji Kawanto from the Japan
International Cooperation Center (JICE) an organization that was representing the Japanese education
said,
“We will host 10 to 15 universities from Japan that will use Najah as a platform to promote Japanese
education and create awareness about our country’s premier universities and courses.”

2. JICE has been collaborating with the Abu Dhabi Educational Council (ADEC) to develop Japan as a source
of education for the UAE nationals inside UAE.
KhurramSaeed, Najah exhibition director, said: “As the higher education sector continues to grow every
year, the UAE is witnessing an increase in demand for private schools which impart quality education
according to international standards. Najah provides a great opportunity for organizations to enter this
dynamic market and capitalize on the growing education sector.”
The Future of Education in The UAE
Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research’s fourth education conference, with the name of The
Future of Education In The UAE’, was held in Abu Dhabi and catered to discussing the problem of
Emiratis graduates finding it challenging to get work in the private firms and the multiple reasons that
lead to this trend.
Dr Abdulla Al Shaiba, head of specialist training at the UAE National Emergency Crisis and Management
Authority, said that organizations thought Emirati third level education was massively based on theory
and there was inadequate practical experience. AL Shaiba commented on the facts that between 13 to
14 percent of Emiratis are unemployed, which brings the total up to 35000 to 40000 people.
Fatima Al Shamsi, 25, put light on the issues that students face after they complete their education and
the unsuccessful job hunting.
Fatima said; “When you’re a local, people think it’s easy for you to find a job, but that’s not the case.
We’re expected to only be interested in work in certain fields. If you want to do something outside the
box, it can be challenging to find work.”
Fourth Education conference
The Fourth Education Conference held in September was based on the need of increasing privatization
and higher education for the sake of the Emiratis. It circumference around the goals that better
coordination and coherence was needed between the education system and the employment needs of
UAE, in times of unemployment and changing demographics of increasing population.
Emirati academic Dr. Abdulla Al Shaiba said “There needs to be a national framework of skills embodied
in the curriculum that are regulated by the Ministry of higher education and scientific research”.
He also added “The private sector needs to create around 20,000 jobs a year to cater to the 100,000 to
200,000 young Emiratis going in to the work force for in the next 10 years”
Importance of internships
Many issues were discussed that were focusing on how to increase levels of employment and improve
the education sectors service to its citizens. Dr. David Guile, who was a researcher from the institute of
education gave his insight at the conference as well and shared the importance of internships for young

3. Emiratis and how that changes their experience and broadens their perspective so they can be better
learners and have an understanding of practical experience and not just theory.
He said “Internships detach students from the academic work and the students see how to work with
the employer’s feedback”
Industry projections of the education sector
There have been many changes in the education industry of UAE in the last five years especially that
have brought a lot of attention to the growing need of an improved education system. Emiratis seem
very unhappy with the quality of education their children were receiving and as a result, lack of jobs in
the private sector for the nationals of UAE and the private sector for the expats.
Decrease in public school enrollment
Globalization and awareness has led to parents becoming more aware of the education systems and
quality of education that is being provided worldwide and can now compare it with their national school
systems. Parents in UAE have become aware of the “customer” service that is provided in public school
nationwide and have shown an inclination towards the private schools.
Program for International Student Assessment has ranked the public schools functioning within the GCC
as the lowest operating public schools. Parents have now started to opt for sending their children to
private schools instead of public schools, because they offer better quality of education, and hire more
skilled and capable teachers than those in public schools.
These private schools also teach the curriculum in English which obviously opens more doors for
students, giving them more options over students who have done their education purely in Arabic.
Studying schools that provide high quality education and offer skilled teachers, also pave the way for the
student to go into university level education, increasing their chances of securing higher chances of
employment.
Increase in international schools and curriculums
Private schools have gained more demand and value in UAE in the last few years, especially because of
the number of expats growing and their demands to send their children to private schools. Public
schools mostly have a cap for international students and more national student oriented, whereas
private schools are better option for the expats because their children get to study international
curriculums which give them more global knowledge and skills to compete around the world.
This growing need of foreign standard education has resulted in new international schools opening up in
the GCC, which have international standards and teach their curriculum in English.
UAE has established itself as a region with the most private universities and is developing itself in the
direction to better equip students with an international outlook. Majority of these universities are

4. affiliated with universities abroad, so they can share their curriculum and provide students of UAE the
same quality of education that is provided around the world.
Serving the students with developed technology
UAE has seen a recent development of the use of technology in the education system to grow towards a
strong and more equipped education system. UAE has lagged behind for many years due to lack of
technology and innovation in their school systems but is now growing towards a brighter and more
efficient education based future.
In a BETT Middle East exhibition in Abu Dhabi in 2012, the use of technology in education was discussed
in great depth and the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) was promoted for
students, so they could have a better understanding of different subjects and more advanced learning
methods as well.
Leading companies like Microsoft and Hewlett-Packard are also contributing towards working on the
development of ICT in the education sector of GCC and bringing a change in the way technology is used
in academics.
Students going abroad to get higher and global education
The number of students in UAE opting for international studies is on a rise, with a large number of
students travelling to UK for higher education and a global exposure. The British Council has estimated
a rise of 20 per cent of UAE students taking up education in the UK in the academic year 2013-2014.
Marc Jessel, the British Council’s country director for the UAE, said: “The preference for UK higher
education has often been inherited by students from their parents and siblings. We are thrilled by this
endorsement of the British system, which is one of the oldest and most prestigious in the world.”
A Case of poor service and unhappy customers in the education industry
UAE despite its constant efforts of improving the education sector and enhancing the service that is
provided to both the Parent as well as the student, still fail to please many. The government and
institutions have tried to take many measures and introduce reforms to improve the system, but still
need to work harder.
Poor customer service in admission processes and applications
Recently a three years old son’s mother wrote an article for the UAE newspaper complaining about the
service provided in the educational service and how she was extremely disappointed by the poor service
provided. The mother of this student commented on how she had applied to multiple schools for the
admission of her son, and spent high amounts of money and didn’t know where it all went.
She went on about how she made the “runaround” for her son’s admission, and did not hear back about
the admission of her son or get a refund for the money she had paid in multiple amounts of school. In
her opinion if this would have happened in any other industry of the UAE it would have become a big

5. scandal, but the education industry seems to get away with just about everything and have very little to
answer about.
Following is an excerpt of how she described her case to a newspaper in UAE:
“Before I delve into the wider issues, here is a brief summary of my own experience (one I know that is
being shared by thousands of parents across the country). When my son was less than a year old, in
October 2010, I applied for him to join various schools in Dubai. The plan was he would start in
September 2013, but given the high demand for places, I was told to apply many years in advance, and
to several different schools.
Easy enough, except this comes with a catch: almost every private school in Dubai charges a registration
fee, purely for the privilege of applying to join. The amount is often as high as AED500 (US$136). But
regardless of whether you get a place or not, you never get this money back - it is, I was told, part of
processing fee.
One of the schools I applied to is one of the most prestigious in Dubai, which has had nothing less than
“outstanding” ratings by the KDHA. They told me back in October 2010 that I was one of the first parents
to apply for a place and so had a good chance. They asked me for the AED500 in cash, which I handed
over. I also handed over similar amounts to various other schools.
Nearly three years on, not a single of the schools I applied to has come back with an offer of a place. Not
one has even bothered to tell me I don’t have a place. I rang the school above with the “outstanding”
ratings last week, and after several emails and phone calls, eventually got through to the registrar.
“Ah yes, sorry, we only had 80 places this year and 70 of those went to siblings, so you didn’t get a
place,” she told me.
Was the school ever going to bother letting me know, I asked?
“No,” she said. “We only tell you if you have a place.”
Analysis
Strange I wasn’t told this in October 2010 when the school was only too happy to take my cash. But
given the school has not even bothered to email me once, and it appears I never had chance of a place
there, what was my AED500 spent on?
“So I can answer the phone to you,” the school told me, before adding: “Wages have to be paid.”
This is a clear example of poor customer service where parents are supposed to wait endlessly to find
out whether their child has been enrolled in a school program or not. Schools need to have proper
admission processes that are standardized across the UAE to inform parents whether their child has
been granted an admission or not.

6. If they are planning on charging a fixed amount of fee to process an application, then the application fee
must include, catering to the questions of the parents whenever they call, guiding them for other
options that they can use to get their child enrolled, even if its elsewhere and of course sending at least
a letter to inform that the child was not given the admission.
To hang on to the money as well as not providing the parents with adequate information is extremely
poor service and lack of customer concern.
The mother of the 3 year old student also added saying:
“Really? Is that what we have come to? A school in the UAE, in 2013, charges AED500 to answer the
phone? What incredible arrogance. Who do these people really think they are? Estate agents?
Let’s say, for example, that 500 other parents applied for a place without success? That would equate to
a staggering AED250, 000 (US$68,000) for doing absolutely nothing. Oh, sorry, for answering the phone.
How much are private schools making across the UAE by charging these fees? I know for a fact that
3many schools have literally hundreds of children on the waiting list, having collected AED500 from each
one. The figures could run into millions of dollars each year.
I have spoken to many other parents and many have forked out around AED2, 500 in application fees and most have been unsuccessful in getting any place. We have been told that most places are already
taken by companies, preference given to siblings, or anyone with good connections. Did you send your
kid to a nursery also owned by the same school? If not, tough luck, thanks for the cash.”

7. If they are planning on charging a fixed amount of fee to process an application, then the application fee
must include, catering to the questions of the parents whenever they call, guiding them for other
options that they can use to get their child enrolled, even if its elsewhere and of course sending at least
a letter to inform that the child was not given the admission.
To hang on to the money as well as not providing the parents with adequate information is extremely
poor service and lack of customer concern.
The mother of the 3 year old student also added saying:
“Really? Is that what we have come to? A school in the UAE, in 2013, charges AED500 to answer the
phone? What incredible arrogance. Who do these people really think they are? Estate agents?
Let’s say, for example, that 500 other parents applied for a place without success? That would equate to
a staggering AED250, 000 (US$68,000) for doing absolutely nothing. Oh, sorry, for answering the phone.
How much are private schools making across the UAE by charging these fees? I know for a fact that
3many schools have literally hundreds of children on the waiting list, having collected AED500 from each
one. The figures could run into millions of dollars each year.
I have spoken to many other parents and many have forked out around AED2, 500 in application fees and most have been unsuccessful in getting any place. We have been told that most places are already
taken by companies, preference given to siblings, or anyone with good connections. Did you send your
kid to a nursery also owned by the same school? If not, tough luck, thanks for the cash.”