Abu Dubai: The two-day virtual Fourth Academic Subjects Forum, which carried the theme ‘Ready for the Future’, was a big success — with over 238,000 participants and visitors in attendance, the Ministry of Education announced on Monday.
According to the Ministry, the specialised training has reached out to 35,000 teachers in both government and private schools while there were 10,000 participants during the training for employment programme. The forum was held “to intensify national and community efforts to participate in building the future of the Emirates for teachers. The aim was to empower teachers with modern skills and knowledge, and to motivate them to adopt a proactive approach in teaching,” the Ministry noted.
Specialised training
The trends and future of work were discussed in the opening session titled “Designing the Future of Education and Preparing for the Future”. It was noted that as much as 85 million jobs could be lost while 97 million new jobs may appear by 2025 globally.
Khawla Al Hosani, director of the Training and Professional Development Department at the Ministry, said: “Specialised training is needed and the Ministry of Education has long sought to empower the decision-makers in the public and private educational institutions with the right tools and methodologies. We sought to take into account all types of learners and their levels.”
Sheikha Dr. Shamma bint Mohammed bin Khalid Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Sheikh Mohammed bin Khalid Al Nahyan Cultural and Educational Institutions, praised the successful model of the distance learning system in the UAE. She noted the decision of implementing distance learning as a response against the spread of COVID-19 was in the best interest of the students
Future leaders
Meanwhile, Lieutenant General Dahi Khalfan Tamim, Deputy Chief of Police and Public Security in Dubai, spoke about future leaders in education. He said “they must have the capacity for long-term planning, and the concerned authorities that manage the education sector must prepare for them and carry them to a high level.”
Abdullah Al-Basti, secretary general of the Executive Council of Dubai, added Emiratis should be able to compete in the local and global labour markets. He also noted all Emirati students should study in the best schools in the country.
