Prince Michael praises UAE’s education system
DUBAI — During a visit to Dubai on Tuesday, Prince Michael of Kent commended the impressive growth of education in the UAE.
While officially inaugurating the Gems Wellington Academy school, Prince Michael said the schooling system here “promotes better teaching quality and student performance”.
“I am hugely impressed by the way all the different subjects are integrated. It allows the student and teacher to rise up together and it made me think. If only I had the opportunity to learn like that in my early days it would have given me a huge leg up.”
Prince Michael said the model being taught across many schools in Dubai is “one of the best” he has seen in the world. That is because schools are “bringing people together from all different backgrounds, nationalities and faiths”.
“If you can bring them together at this age and teach them about each other, it is a huge advantage.”
Commenting on the fact that British curriculum schools are one of the most sought after in the Middle East, Prince Michael said that is largely because of the fact that it is a system which has run for a long time.
But he said more fluid systems in mixed nationality countries like the UAE are promoting better
I am hugely impressed by the way all the different subjects are integrated. It allows the student and teacher to rise up together and it made me think. If only I had the opportunity to learn like that in my early days it would have given me a huge leg up.”
learning approaches, such as the IB system.
As Patron of the family of Wellington International Schools, Prince Michael reminisced back to 10 years ago when he first attended the groundbreaking of the school’s site along Al Khail, Dubai.
Since then, the family has grown to more than 10,000 students in the UAE and abroad and Tuesday marked his first visit to the school since completion in 2013.
After a ribbon cutting and plaque unveiling, Prince Michael toured the school, and visited a class of excited Foundation Stage 2 students. “Each student I have met today is happy and confident, which is a testament to the education they are receiving at these schools,” he said.
Prince Michael also visited Wellington International School, where he planted a tree in celebration of the school’s 10th anniversary.
kelly@khaleejtimes.com