Mohammad visits Ministry of Education headquarters

Dubai: His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Sunday visited the Ministry of Education headquarters in Dubai.

Shaikh Mohammad was accompanied by Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai Crown Prince, during the visit.

Shaikh Mohammad was greeted upon arrival by Mohammad Abdullah Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs, and Humaid Mohammad Obaid Al Qutami, Minister of Education, and a number of officials.

On the first stop of his visit, Shaikh Mohammad inquired about the school buses, which were readied with the highest measures of safety and provided comfortable means of transport for the students.

Shaikh Mohammad was briefed by Al Qutami on the role of Emirates Transport (ET) in ensuring the supply of a total of 3,330 school buses that met the required set standards, in addition to providing more than six thousand rental cars for ministries and relevant bodies.

The minister also pointed out that the institution, since its establishment in 1981, contains nine different branches in different educational areas around the country, aside from its main headquarters in Dubai. He also said that the ministry's current workforce consists of approximately 10,000 employees.

In the meeting room, Shaikh Mohammad reviewed the ministry's preparations for the 2010/2011 semester. Upon completion, the schools will be ready to receive more than 400,000 students from various education levels.

Al Qutami also presented to Shaikh Mohammad the components of the plan to develop the school curriculum and the timetable for its completion, in addition to the supply of more than 4.5 million textbook copies that will be ready to be distributed to the students by September 7.

Al Qutami pointed out that half of the textbooks were printed locally, with the other half being printed abroad. He affirmed that the Emirates Vision 2021 strategy, approved by the Cabinet and endorsed by President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, will be included in the national curriculum in order to instil national loyalty in student's hearts and culture, as well as encouraging them to serve their country, which will result in a greater standing for the UAE in 2021.

Shaikh Mohammad ordered the ministry to pay special care to secondary education students in order to ensure that they adequately prepared for higher education.

He said that the students need to possess the necessary qualifications to begin their University education immediately instead of wasting a year for university preparation.

Shaikh Mohammad also listened to the ministry's plan pertaining to providing the necessary school environment and education, which includes modernizing the information technology and communication infrastructure, facilities, training services, and providing sun shelters, air conditioning and furniture.

Al Qutami also assured Shaikh Mohammad about the capacity and capability of the current workforce of 10,000 teachers of various nationalities.

Shaikh Mohammad was briefed about the ministry's plan on developing the examination systems that are in accordance with the highest international standards to ensure an efficient participation in global examinations.

He also looked into the E-correction system that is being adopted by the ministry, which will ensure a quality, accuracy and time-saving method for correcting school exams. The unified e-correction system will be introduced across all schools in the country.

Shaikh Mohammad expressed during his meeting with the directors of various school areas in the UAE his willingness to listen to their opinion and input, since it will help develop a school's role in modern education, which in turn results in encouraging students to be more responsible and confident of their own abilities, instead of solely relying on their teachers.

During his visit, Shaikh Mohammad met and congratulated students that have participated and won medals in different regional and international sport competitions.