Die Privatwirtschaft der Vereinigten Arabischen Emirate investiert nicht genug in die Bildung. "Ich glaube immer noch nicht, dass der Beitrag der Privatwirtschaft effizient ist. Im Jahr 2012 fand eine Studie heraus, dass der Beitrag des privaten Sektors zur Bildung in unserem Land nur 0,1 Prozent beträgt", sagte jüngst der Staatssekretär im Bildungsministerium, Marwan Al Sawaleh.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE's) private sector is not investing enough in education, said the undersecretary of the Ministry of Education at the Global Education and Skills Forum 2014 yesterday.Private sector not investing enough in education
"I still don't believe the contribution of the private sector is efficient. In 2012, a study found that the private sectors' contribution to education in the country was only 0.1 per cent," said Marwan Al Sawaleh, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education.
During the session titled 'From basics to excellence: putting a quality education within the reach of every child', Al Sawaleh said to continue providing quality education in the UAE, increasing the private sector's contribution is vital.
The forum, which was attended by 1,100 delegates from 65 countries, aims to bring together heads of government and business leaders with the aim of strengthening ties and engaging the private sector in the field of education.
Al Sawaleh also said investing in more content and technology as well as training teachers is important to sustain education in the country, areas the UAE is continuously working on.
"From the perspective of our leadership, education was always part of their vision. In the 1950s, formal education was introduced in Abu Dhabi, in the 1970s, there were 127 schools across the UAE."
The Mohammad Bin Rashid Smart Learning Initiative was launched in 2012 with the aim of transforming classrooms in all public schools into a single e-platform in a period of three years and, today, 123 schools are now learning in smart classrooms through our smart initiative.
Not all countries are fortunate enough to have such opportunities and technology access, as Irina Bokova, director general of Unesco, proved with figures.
"Every year, the cost of education reaches $29 billion, none of which reach the marginalised populations, the minority. If we continue on the current path, girls in poor areas, like Africa, will receive primary education by the year 2086, which is unacceptable."
Access to education only is not enough, quality is also important as Bokova said there are 250 million people who have received education but cannot read and write.
Tareq Al Gurg, CEO of Dubai Cares, said his organisation succeeds in providing access to education in poor countries through partnerships with the private sector.
"Forging effective partnership has better impact as each partner brings something to the table."
He also stressed that technology is not the only single effective unit, teachers are the medium, so they must be trained in order to deliver the material with these new tools.
Salil Shetty, Secretary-General, Amnesty International, UK, believes that schools should teach humanity, which is often talked about but scarcely practised.
"If Syria is a country that respected rights, where people are taught to respect humanity from when they are in schools, we wouldn't be facing the current problems."
Other speakers who participated in the session included Rebecca Winthrop, Senior Fellow and Director, Bookings Institution, USA; and Seokpil Kim, Chief Marketing Officer, Samsung Electronics, UK.