Governments and developed country leaders have an obligation to help poorer nations eliminate the root causes that lead to the crisis in educational levels. More investments and reforms are necessary in this area shared, Fauzan Qazi, Managing Director, Harvest Private School, Ras Al-Khaimah, UAE in an exclusive conversation with Sheeba Chauhan of Elets News Network. Edited excerpts:
In April 2022, enrolment in Dubai’s private schools crossed 300,000, the highest ever in history. Do you think improved enrolment is directly proportional to quality education?
Most definitely that is one aspect, however, the main reason for the improved enrolment is the growing attractiveness of Dubai for expats as a lifestyle, business and investment destination, which has encouraged families from across the world to relocate to the city. Naturally these families enroll their children in schools causing the rise in numbers.
The advent of technologies like AI, ML, and Automation is transforming the education ecosystem globally. How is technology intervention in education helping at your school?
Keeping a step ahead of technology and ensuring it is implemented correctly so as to prove beneficial to the education process is quite a challenge. At Harvest Private School we are moving from a very traditional system with basic technology to the implementation of a comprehensive school operations and integration system, advancements in the internet and networking infrastructure and the introduction of BYOD(Bring your own device) and smart board systems. The school is also working on Virtual Reality and the use of Artificial Intelligence robotics in a few advanced subjects.
According to UNICEF, Over 600 million children and adolescents worldwide are unable to attain minimum proficiency levels in reading and mathematics. What do you consider the issue in developing foundational skills in literacy and numeracy?
The World is facing many issues, one of which is increasing levels of poverty. Many children around the world are taken out of foundational development by their parents who themselves are uneducated or people of determination and depend on their children to contribute to the family income. Hence these children have to drop out of schools to support their families, which is causing a massive inequality in access to education. Governments and community leaders have an obligation to help the poorer nations eliminate these root causes that have led to the global crisis in educational levels. More investments and reforms are necessary in this area if this situation is to be alleviated.
An estimated 93 million children worldwide live with special needs and these children are overlooked while making educational policies. What are the programs, you have at your school for these differently abled children?
We made a deliberate decision and developed a road map to improve this aspect of education at the school. This has included the hiring of staff to oversee the inclusion department. Having an inclusion-focused person enabled our school to complete a comprehensive evaluation and thereby identify students needing attention. We then hired several LSAs and shadow teachers to improve the educational program for students of determination. Now, I am proud to say that we can call ourselves an inclusive school that caters to students with various levels of needs and abilities.
