Gulf business leaders fear 'lost generations'
Some of the Gulf’s most respected business leaders have expressed their deep concern over the region’s education system and the bloated public sector, according to research carried out by one of the world’s leading executive search firms.
Metin Mitchell, the regional managing director of Korn/Ferry International, revealed that some of the GCC’s most famous names – including Kingdom Holding chairman Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal and Alshaya chairman Mohammed Alshaya - fear that the Gulf could be hit by a series of "lost generations" that were essentially unemployable.
...“If only it were one lost generation. Unless we fix the education system, we’re looking at two or three generations that could be lost,” Mitchell told Arabian Business.
“It is such a critical thing and it is not being addressed. People are very pleased about spending big bucks on fancy new universities, without having the quality in the primary and secondary education tiers, and without having a decent class of teachers.”
“You can educate people, but you also have to show them that you have to struggle, you have to work your way up from the bottom. A lot of the talented people [Gulf nationals] go into either banking or family businesses,” Mitchell said.
http://www.arabianbusiness.com/593253-gulf-business-leaders-fear-lost-ge...
------------
For me education is not everything but it also placed you to where you are right now.
@ Versi,your observation is spot on & there is a valid reason behind it...UAE(except Abu Dhabi),Oman & Bahrain are not blessed with the wealth of natural resources that Qatar is,so as britexpat correctly pointed out,need automatically brings change...so i would safely say the past two generations of the above mentioned GCC nationals have had to work for a living because their Govts. didn't & don't have the kind of wealth to support them by giving them a Govt. admin. job pushing files while earning a five figure salary with full benefits in the name of localization for essentially doing nothing...so they actually worked hard in school,finished high school,then either got a college degree @ home or went abroad to university(the West for the more well of ones,India for the not so well off ones,i counted 2 Omanis & one Bahraini as close friends while @ University back home),then came home & applied to get jobs BOTH in Govt. & private sector,i suppose the luckier ones with better family connections get the Govt. jobs but they will still have to work hard & prove themselves because unlike here,there isn't an Asian below them literally doing two people's jobs,there the guy below is a national as well!!! & if this guy doesn't prove himself,there are plenty waiting who can,including the local working under him who would hope for a promotion!!! to put it simply,those countries have more REAL working environments...but can change ONLY come from neccessity?...
The answer to that is no & the proof of that is Kuwait,oil reserves & wealth generated from those reserves going back to a good few decades ever since oil was discovered there,BUT Kuwaitis were always more open minded than most of their GCC cousins & realized quickly that quality education was essential IRRESPECTIVE of wealth so they sent their kids to American & British schools in Kuwait & then to University in the West(a majority of the student population in the bigger American & British schools there are Kuwaiti)
,which is why two(if not more) generations of them are better educated than their GCC cousins...so in their case,they have the wealth,have had it for decades now but still chose to be educated but there isn't a need for their nationals to leave home & come to work in neighbouring GCC countries unlike the Emiratis,Saudis & Bahrainis,hence why you hardly see Kuwaitis working here...
Recognizing the problem and being honest about it is a good start
But thinkin about it, I've never seen a Qatari employed in a senior position in a private company. But I have seen Emarati, Omani, Saudi and Bahraini etc. who were... not so Kuwaitis too...
Prince Al Waleed & Mr. Al Shaya have stated the obvious but obviously a fact that a good few educated & aware Gulf Arabs know & acknowledge but would not say it in public out of fear of retribution...
Qatar Foundation is probably the best example of this in the Mid-East,ivy league campuses but how many Qatari students there?...& of that minority Qatari student population,how many have come through the local schooling system?...we can't count those that graduated from ASD or Doha College 'cos those aren't the ones being referred to in the OP & who are a minority anyways...
The local schooling system is pathetic to say the least,add to that the fact that jobs(especially Govt. admin. ones) are being handed out like Halloween candy in the name of Qatarization & you have a receipe for disaster...or more specifically,the lost generations mentioned above...
Unfortunately,a lot of the powers that be presume that oil wealth can substitute genuine,quality education & hard work & are essentially looking for a quick fix solution to gain world respect 'cos they have realized that while the world may want their wealth & want them to invest in their countries in these troubled economic times,they sure as hell don't respect them or consider them equals & this is largely due to the difference in education levels as well as the means by which the above mentioned wealth has been achieved...i.e,a young scion from a wealthy family who was born into wealth going to discuss business plans or investments with foreigners is unlikely to be taken seriously as those guys are aware of the fact that this young punk hasn't earned that wealth & therefore shouldn't be discussing it's investment with them...if on the other hand,this kid went to a good school (good standard of education & no difference shown because of who he is),finished it,earned himself a place at a good business school,worked hard,earned that degree in business & THEN sat across from them @ a conference table,the equation changes because they're going to give that kid the respect he deserves...but the question remains,when this young punk can have access to the same wealth WITHOUT having to work hard to finish school or get a decent college degree,why should he?...
I teach at 3 universities online and yup same sentiments. The students feel that since they are paying they deserve top marks. Uh, hello we all pay for our education in some form or another.
Actually , need brings change...
Look at Saudi Arabia.. Now, locals are working as security guards and clerks... Something unheard of 10 years ago..
Thats very interesting what you guys above are saying...I socialise with quite a few teachers and they echo the same sentiments....seems the current generation want everything for nothing.....
I remember a friend in Saudi who used to teach at the local university. He was "told" to upgrade all the marks for students to ensure passes..
great teachers produce great students. I salute those teachers that discovered the art of teaching. Because not all teachers were gifted by it.