Student majors 'must fit job market needs'

Students should align their choice of majors with the needs of the job market, a senior education official said Monday. "Students should choose a major which matches their capabilities and ambitions. They should also strike a balance between the specialisation they choose and the needs of the job market," Dubai Education Zone Director Dr Ahmad Eid Al Mansouri said. He was speaking Monday at a ceremony organised by the Dubai Education Zone to honour Dubai's top scorers of the Grade 12 public school exams. Twenty-two pupils - 11 each from the Science and Art streams - who scored above 98 per cent in the exams were honoured by Minister of Education Humaid Mohammad Obaid Al Qutami in a ceremony held at the Dubai Police Academy. Article continues below All but one were girls. The pupils were given a certificate of appreciation and gifts such as laptops and watches, in the presence of family members and senior education officials. Abdullah Zuhair Abu Sultan, the only boy who was honoured, scored 98.5 per cent in the Science stream. He is a student of the Mohammad Bin Rashid Model School. Ambition "I hope to become a cardiac surgeon some day," said Abdullah, who hails from Palestine. His father, Zuhair Jameel Abu Sultan, a teacher by profession said that he is extremely proud of his son's achievement. "We hope to help Abdullah realise his dream of becoming a doctor but we are facing some financial constraints. Hopefully he will secure a scholarship at a good university," said the father. Abdullah said encouragement from his parents is what helped him score well. Speaking to Gulf News following the honouring ceremony, the Dubai Education Zone Director said that the education zone is keen on encouraging and providing the necessary support to students to achieve excellence. Al Mansouri said the pupils should focus on their next stage of education now and choose wisely. He thanked the efforts of the Ministry of Education's officials at the examination department — including administrators, instructors and teachers — for making the timely announcement of the results possible. ‘Very happy' Fouzia Al Khayyal, an Emirati student at Al Salam School was honoured for scoring 98.5 per cent in the Science stream. She said: "I am very happy about it." A Hamdan award winner last year, her ambition is to become an engineer, she said. Tunisian Abir Rhim, a student of New World Private School scored 98.8 per cent in Science. She is planning to continue her studies in Jordan, she said, adding that her ambition is to become an engineer.