Mandatory college English programs in the Gulf are actually making the rich-poor gap worse.
March 19, 2026
Original Paper
The Proficiency Paradox: Two Decades of Evidence on Foundation Programmes and Capital Reproduction in GCC Higher Education: A Systematic Literature Review
SSRN · 6439404
The Takeaway
While intended to bridge the language gap for students from government schools, these programs add up to two years to degree timelines and lead to higher dropout rates for poorer students, effectively acting as a structural filter that preserves social class.
From the abstract
Despite Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) students accumulating eleven to thirteen years of compulsory English instruction, between 45% and 78% of university entrants are assessed as insufficiently proficient for English-medium instruction (EMI) and redirected into mandatory foundation programmes lasting one to two years before degree access — a structural paradox with profound consequences for student equity, degree completion timelines, and institutional resources. This systematic review synthesi