Ziad Azzam, chief executive of Taaleem, a provider of private schools in Dubai, recounts how students arriving some four years ago at Al-Ain university in the United Arab Emirates, needed between six and 18 months of further teaching in basic Arabic, English, mathematics and information technology to reach an acceptable standard.
Such stories, some apocryphal, are common in the UAE. Arabic language schools are filled with unmotivated students taught by poorly paid teachers who rely on rote learning techniques.
