Plans to phase out foundation year for university by end of 2018 postponed
▶ Plan to phase out extra year for those that fail public high school exit test is dropped for new target as too few pupils ready to go straight to university
Plans to phase out the foundation year of remedial English for pupils about to embark on tertiary education have been delayed.
Education officials have admitted that abolishing the foundation year by the end of next year was too ambitious, and the timeframe has been extended until 2021.
Dr Abdullatif Al Shamsi, vice chancellor of the federal Higher Colleges of Technology, said the percentage of public school pupils with enough proficiency in English to allow them to proceed straight to university was on the rise.
Dr Al Shamsi said that last year, 23 per cent were prepared for university without a foundation year.
“That percentage has been rising every year,” he said. “And that is simply because of the improvements that are happening now at the general education level.
“They are doing a lot, they have put in a lot of effort. But the efforts take time.”
To avoid the need for foundation year, pupils leaving high school must reach a minimum of five points in the International English Language Testing System, a global benchmark, or at least 1,100 on the Emirates Standardised Test.
The emphasis on English as the language of instruction in public schools for subjects other than those such as Arabic, Islamic studies and social studies is part of a continuing, intensive overhaul of the education system.
“This improvement is meant to tackle several issues in the education system,” Dr Hamad Al Yahyaei, director of Grades 9 to 12 curriculums for the Ministry of Education, said when the original goals were set 12 months ago.
“One of them is to make sure that we keep enhancing the students’ readiness for higher education and competitiveness in the job market.”
Dr Al Shamsi said that the new target was achievable.
“But you cannot phase it out 100 per cent because you will always have some students who are struggling with the English language.”
Plans to phase out the year of remedial English that many public school graduates must take before university have been put on hold.
Emiratis who fail a high school exit test that measures their level of English readiness in Grade 12 must complete the “foundation year” before going to university.
Plans were afoot to raise the standard of English taught in high schools so the year would no longer be needed, with a deadline for the end of next year. But officials admit that was too ambitious.
“They were not able to achieve the result of having student English scores high enough to avoid foundation, so there is still foundation needing to be done,” said Dr Warren Fox, chief of higher education for the Knowledge and Human Development Authority.
To be considered for direct admission into a degree programme at one of the UAE’s public universities, Emirati pupils need to earn a minimum score of 5 on the International English Language Testing System, or at least 1,100 on the Emirates Standardised Test.
Those who fail to achieve this grade can opt to enrol for the foundation, or academic bridge programme, offered by local colleges and universities to raise English proficiency.
The 2018 target for ending the foundation programme was set during a Cabinet retreat in 2013 as part of an education overhaul, and confirmed at the Federal National Council by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak, the then Minister of Higher Education.
Officials said the high costs associated with the foundation scheme, which was reported to use about one third of the post-secondary school budget – cut into higher education funding for research, innovation and new programmes.
It also places students in a state of academic limbo, as they do not earn college credit for the work they do in foundation years.
But since then, much has changed in the education landscape, including the appointment of a new minister of education and a merger of the ministries of education and higher education, supported by two new ministers of state.
The public school curriculum has also undergone reforms designed by the Ministry of Education to raise standards, including introducing subjects, textbooks and phasing in bilingual education.
In August last year when the curriculum revisions were announced, Dr Hamad Al Yahyaei, the ministry’s director of Grade 9 to 12 curriculum, said: “This improvement is meant to tackle several issues in the education system in the UAE.
“One of them is to make sure that we keep enhancing the students’ readiness for higher education and competitiveness in the job market.”
A second goal identified by Dr Al Yahyaei was “to make sure that 100 per cent of the students, by 2018-2019, can get into college without a foundation year”.
The new target for phasing out the foundation programme will be guided by the UAE National Agenda, which aims to ensure that “no students need to join the university foundation programme” by 2021.
“The new goal, which is still a bit ambitious, calls for reducing and trying to eliminate the enrolment of students in the foundation year,” said Dr Fox. “That is what it is now. It is in UAE Vision 2021.”
Dr Abdullatif Al Shamsi, vice chancellor of the Higher Colleges of Technology, said the positive effects of the public education reforms were already evident.
Dr Al Shamsi said that last year, 23 per cent of new students entered the HCT’s academic programmes without having to enrol for the foundation year. In 2014, only 20 per cent of students were ready for direct entry to university.
“That percentage has been rising every year,” said Dr Al Shamsi. “And that is simply because of the improvements that is happening now at the general education level.
“They are doing a lot, they have put in a lot of effort. But the efforts takes time.”
Setting 2021 as a target for ensuring Emiratis achieve a score that will allow them to enter university degree programmes is realistic, said Dr Al Shamsi.
“It is achievable,” he said. “But you cannot phase it out 100 per cent because you will always have some students who are struggling with the English language.”
Deadline for the end of next year was too ambitious, officials admit