“Dubai – World’s one of the most vibrant cities, a city committed to tolerance and a city committed to well being, “said Mark Beer, OBE, Chief Executive, DIFC Courts, Dubai International Financial Centre, during the 11th World Education Summit Dubai.
Describing about Dubai’s education journey, he said, “I would like to take you to a journey, a journey from foundations of education in Emirates to future of education in Dubai. First school in Dubai was opened in 1912. Parents were paid to send their children to school.”
“First Indian school in Dubai was opened in 1961 with eight students has grown to more than 15,000 across all three campuses. First English school was opened in 1963 in a pet’s room of a villa. It was opened by Military. First American school was opened in 1966 by Dubai Petroleum. The year was also important as it was the year when oil was explored in Dubai,” he added.
Explaining about how Dubai evolved itself, Beer said, “In my view, 1985 was Dubai’s first Renaissance. It went from the “Era of Oil” to “Era of diversification”. In 1985, oil contributes around 50 per cent of Dubai’s economy but now it contributes only 2-3 per cent. Dubai decided to diversify its economy away from the wealth comes out of the Earth. And in this process, the city becomes the hub of moving goods from West to East and East to West.”
“So, in the era of diversification people were migrating via Dubai but not staying here. Major factors for people’s stay in a city are: proper healthcare mechanisms, good education opportunities for younger generation and protection of rights. It brings the second Renaissance in Dubai, from “Era of Diversification” to “Era of Sustainability”,” he added.
Beer also described about the role of authorities. He said, “Building trust and confidence and following best international practices, this was the middle of year 2000. In 2006, Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) was established for educating the children. In 2007, Dubai Health Authority was established keep the citizens healthy. In the journey of 10 years, we are now established as the leading Medical tourism destination of the world.”
Beer said about the WES, “The reason we are here today is, Dubai the leader in the world for one of the best education environments. It educates quarter to million students in 200 schools and in private sector schools, around AED 6.8 billion is paid as fee annually.”
He also said, “In line with Dubai’s future dream, World Education Summit brought 500 speakers from around the globe on one platform to discuss the future of education. It is important as 50 per cent of the children entering to school education will be doing the jobs which no do not exist today.”
He explained the Dubai’s vision of becoming the city of future adding , “Today we are going to enter the third Renaissance. Dubai is the city of future. We brought leading thinkers from around the world to tell us that how the city should look like in future.”
“Its no longer good enough to teach people facts, we need to create human beings, we need to create social and emotional learners. We need to teach new skills and inculcate creativity, problem saving, curiosity and leadership,” he added.