College bosses accused of discrimination :: EmiratesToday

Quote:

Fifteen students have been told they are no longer wanted at the Abu Dhabi Nursing College because their grades are not up to standard.
. . .
The mother of one girl who was dismissed said that most of the students involved had graduated from high school with an average of 80 per cent marks.
. . .
The college enrolls national students who graduate from high school with average grades of 60 per cent or 65 per cent while other nationalities must have an average above 70 per cent to be accepted.

That is, there is no question that the college does discriminate in admissions. We are not told what the nationalities of the dismissed students were. But the principal denies that there is any sort of discrimination in the dismissals.

Meanwhile, a U.S. recent report found "The academic intensity of the student's high school curriculum still counts more than anything else in precollegiate history in providing momentum toward completing a bachelor's degree."

If the dismissed students are disproportionately national it could be an indication that the government school education is not as intense as private high schools. If most of the dismissed students had 80% marks from high school that could indicate the scores don't tell you much about the students' preparedness.

Some stories in today's Khaleej Times about the UAE government education system:

Interview with Minister of Education - “If the graduated students are good, it means our mission has been successfully done, and the other way round means it has ended up in a fiasco. Unfortunately, the graduated students are still not up to the mark. Therefore, we are required to do more work and achievement in order to realise the objective."

Read the whole thing.

Minister's surprise visit pays dividends - "several reports in local newspapers spoke about the parking lots of the MoE being stacked up with cars since the early morning hours."