Serious work required to strengthen UAE’s education sector in line with new policies, say new ministers

Dubai: The Ministry of Education is working on plans to achieve radical transformations in line with the future national strategies and plans to enhance the quality of education in the country.

During a media briefing organised by the UAE Government Media Office on Tuesday, the newly appointed education ministers talked about developments in the UAE education sector, and the new policies and projects that were recently launched in keeping with recent ministerial appointments, including the ‘Ajyal Schools’ (Generations Schools) model, which will be implemented starting from the next academic year 2022-2023.

Last month, the UAE announced a shake-up at the Ministry of Education with new ministers chosen and a brief to re-evaluate how young people are taught. His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, had directed the establishment of institutions supporting the development of the sector while announcing a major restructuring of the education system in the UAE in May. Sheikh Mohammed said at the time that the goal of the changes is to ensure graduates are well prepared for the workplaces of the future.

Media interaction

On Tuesday, the three ministers - Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Education; Sarah Bint Yousif Al Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology, Chairwomen of Emirates Schools Establishment; and Sara Awad Issa Musallam, Minister of State for Early Education and Chairperson of the Federal Authority for Early Education - interacted with senior journalists in the UAE to reveal their plans to implement the new education policies.

New structure

Speaking on the occasion, Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Education, said: “The current stage requires serious work in order to strengthen and enhance the education in the UAE. Our aim is to achieve radical transformations in line with the future national strategies and plans. We are keen to form a clear vision about the present and the future of education, and link it to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in order to build qualified students.”

Al Falasi pointed that the new structure is led by the Education and Human Resources Council, Federal Authority for Quality of Education, the Ministry of Education, the Federal Authority for Early Childhood Education, the Emirates Schools Establishment, in addition to the local educational authorities in each emirate.

Al Falasi said that the new stage requires joint efforts and work through which everyone, including educational leaders, teachers, parents and students, is involved. He emphasised the Ministry’s top priority, which is represented by the parents, students, teachers and administrators’ happiness. “We are committed to re-evaluating the quality of services, and providing a distinguished system that achieves rapid response, and best levels of achievement,” he added.

Top priority

Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology, Chairwoman of Emirates Schools Establishment, emphasised that the educational sector has always been a highest priority to the leadership, as the first and most important stage in the path of empowering Emirati people with appropriate skills.

She said: “We are keen to prepare the next generation for the future, arm them with knowledge and skills, to achieve a more prosperous and brighter future for our country. Ajyal (Generations) Schools have been launched, to drive different pedagogies within our education system, by offering pioneering educational options, in cooperation with educational service providers from the private sector.”

Al Amiri concluded: “We will continue working with our partners from the public and private sectors to ensure the development of the education system in our public schools. 5,000 students will begin their education in Ajyal Schools by next academic year, while the school model is expected to cater to 14,000 students after three years.”

Basic skills

Sara Awad Issa Musallam spoke about the importance of building a child’s personality, which requires acquiring basic skills from the first early stages. She said: “Establishing the Federal Authority for Early Education reflects the keenness of our wise leadership to provide the right to growth and education in a healthy and safe environment for each and every child, ensuring their successful transition to schools.”

She added: “While working on graduating a new generation of learners, we need to lay the supporting foundations to empower students in their education journey, from the early years.

Quality education

Musallam said that the studies indicate that children who receive quality education before the age of five are less likely to repeat the school year by more than 8%, and their likelihood of needing additional support or intervention programs in education is reduced by more than 8%, while their chance of successfully graduating from high school is higher by 11% compared to children who did not receive early education.

Minister of State for Early Education stressed the need to enhance the efficiency of the sector and empower the cadres working in it. She said: “We will coordinate with all concerned authorities to prepare a unified regulatory framework, which will be applied to more than 600 nurseries, all kindergartens and preschools of public and private schools in the UAE.”

New UAE’s Education structure

The new UAE education structure announced in May this year includes: the Education and Human Resources Council, Federal Authority for Quality of Education, Ministry of Education, Federal Authority for Early Childhood Education, Emirates Schools Establishment, in addition to the local educational authorities in each emirate, which will operate according to one system and specific competencies.

Education and Human Resources Council

Under the new structure, the Education and Human Resources Council will be reconstituted, chaired by Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation. The council will be responsible for supervising the project of the Future of Education in the country.

Federal Authority for Quality and Standards of Education

The new structure created a specialised Authority for Quality of education to be affiliated with the UAE Cabinet. It will be mainly responsible for measuring the educational outcomes, student performance, and the efficiency of the educational process. The Authority will be responsible for measuring the quality of education, auditing educational outputs related to education, early childhood education, kindergarten, public education, and higher education, in addition to submitting reports on the results and proposals to develop policies, strategies, legislation and curricula.

Federal Authority for Early Childhood Education

The new structure created a federal authority specialised in early childhood education, to develop and implement comprehensive plans to follow up the child development from birth to the fourth grade. Affiliated with the UAE Cabinet, the Authority will be responsible for developing policies, strategies, legislations and programs related to the education needs of the early childhood stage.

The authority will be responsible for setting regulations and standards, and issuing licenses and monitoring government and private nurseries in the country in coordination with the competent local authorities, and working with parents to enhance their role in the early childhood stage.

Ministry of Education

The responsibilities of the Ministry of Education will now include developing policies, strategies and legislation related to public and higher education in the UAE.

The ministry’s functions include managing and developing the general education framework, curricula and tools for government public education schools in the country, developing curricula for compulsory educational materials for private schools, setting standards and regulations, issuing licenses and monitoring private schools in coordination with the competent local authorities.

The work of the Ministry also consists of supervising international exams in the country and managing their implementation in all public, private and higher education institutions, in coordination with the concerned authorities. In addition to the recognition of public and higher education institutions operating outside the country, equivalency of certificates and qualifications they grant, and ratification of certificates and qualifications issued by public and higher education and training institutions licensed within the country.

The Emirates Schools Establishment

The new structure of the education system included the Emirates Schools Establishment, which comes under the umbrella of the UAE Cabinet, and is concerned by enhancing the efficiency of the government schools and nurseries, supervising public schools in the country, and implementing policies, strategies and standards related to the development of the education sector.

Under the new structure, the Establishment will also be specialised in developing student care programmes, activities and events in public schools, supervising their implementation, and proposing innovative and new models for operating public schools to raise their efficiency.