Universities have taken wrong turn, scholar says

Academic tells conference that the system of studies is too narrow, and that students must be trained to become well-rounded individuals.

Mick Randall, a consultant and honorary research fellow at the British University in Dubai, says that higher education must focus on more than the employment market. Andrew Henderson / The National
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ABU DHABI // The higher education system has been commercialised and is driven by market demands, according to an academic speaking at an education conference in the capital yesterday.

Dr Mick Randall, a consultant and former dean of education at the British University in Dubai, said that the role of education is to develop the individual, but that the system has become a "slave to industry", merely providing workers. The result, he said, is that subjects that develop well-rounded individuals, including philosophy, maths and science, have suffered.

"The free market will produce a good result, better than anyone at the ministries can, but what are the results?" said Dr Randall to an audience attending Education in the UAE, which was held at the Emirates Centre for Strategic Studies and Research.

"One of the dangers of the commercialisation of education is that people don't look at the long term." He said the system is focusing too narrowly on a handful of subjects driven by the market economy, a system that will not be sustainable.

As an example, Dr Randall pointed to Arabic and Islamic studies programmes, which comprise only 2 per cent of the courses offered in federal universities. By comparison, business programmes come in at 26 per cent, engineering studies account for 17 per cent, and information technology comes in at 10 per cent.

Without the study of subjects such as maths and science, Dr Randall said that too few qualified educators will be around to pass on vital knowledge to future generations.

Dr Nabil Ibrahim, the chancellor of Abu Dhabi University, said that ensuring the employability of students is still key.

"It's vital to create programmes that are relevant economically and socially to the UAE," he said to the forum audience. "Education is an economic driver, but must also be a social driver for social change."

Dr Farid Ohan, the director of the Sharjah Higher Colleges of Technology, which has recently launched programmes in subjects as diverse as social work and animation, said that an institution must aim to provide not only the technical skills the student needs on the job, but also must equip them to grow as individuals and be productive members of society.

"To be successful in the workplace, you have to have those other skills that a more rounded education gives you," he said.

"Even with IT or business students, you can either train them or educate them. If you want your business graduates to have leadership potential, you have to educate them." Dr Karima al Mazroui, a member of the faculty of education at UAE University, who also spoke at the conference, said that one of the biggest hurdles in the higher education system here is that classes are taught in English, while many students have had only basic studies in the language.

"It can lead to low self-esteem and low confidence in students, which can lead to introversion," she said.

"I have students who beg to be able to ask questions in Arabic, not English." She said that despite the drive to teach all university courses in English, Arabic must not be downgraded.

"Arabic language, regardless of any other language, must always be on top," she said, but stressed that while it is vital to "preserve" the country's mother tongue, it is also important not to be isolated from the outside world.

Dr Ibrahim emphasised the importance of globalising the country's graduates. "In this country, we need to learn more languages." He added that universities in the UAE must form partnerships with international universities if they are to reach international standards, saying that Abu Dhabi University has more than 25 such partnerships around the world.