Dubai: In response to the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, the Emirates Schools Establishment (ESE) launches Taaleem Councils, targeting school principals and teachers in public schools. The councils will engage education professionals in decision-making.
Taaleem Councils, to be overseen by Sarah bint Yousef Al Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology and Chairperson of the Emirates Schools Establishment, will include three councils: School Leadership Council, Teachers Council and Young Teachers Council.
The councils aim to involve education professionals setting programmes to increase academic outcomes. The councils will also support in key decisions within the organisation. In addition, these councils will help find and work on effective and innovative solutions to challenges in the academic field.
The councils include educational representatives from the public schools run by ESE. This will be achieved by activating the role of education professionals in determining the priorities of the field while moving forward in the development of educational policies and their provisions to respond to the development and modernization plans in the education system.
Taaleem Councils will include pilot initiatives, programmds, and activities to be scheduled throughout the academic year and seminars and forums specialized in educational affairs.
Participation and involvement
Sarah Al Amiri said Taaleem Councils represent the essential role of professionals in the educational field as they strive to achieve the objectives of the education. This initiative is based on the importance of involving them in developing innovative educational plans and policies to ensure their effective participation in the efforts to develop the country’s national public education system and improve its competitiveness at the global level.
She added that the teachers represent the main pillar of the education system, and their efforts in the field represent the basis through which we can achieve the country’s aspirations in the education sector. The minister also pointed out that the educational field is replete with bright educational models with unique experiences and visions in the academic field. Taaleem Councils come to frame the efforts of these models and ensure the benefit of their expertise to serve the priorities of the education system and provide it with all the elements of its leadership and development.
“We will work to activate communication within the educational field, improve it and identify the challenges it faces, and the initiative of Taaleem Councils embodies part of the Emirates Schools Establishment’s orientation in investing in and motivating the field and giving it a leading role in achieving the aspirations of our country in the education sector,” she said.
The School Leadership Council will include 14 members, including two principals from each emirate. It will involve school leaders in the decision-making process, drawing up institutional features and policies, working on an organisational framework at the school level, involving public school principals in the development of the schoolwork system, participating in strategic and operational planning processes, and finding solutions to challenges.
Nominations
The council is open for nomination to all employees of ESE, regardless of nationality. The council will renew every two academic years. ESE has set several conditions for those wishing to join the council, including that the school principal must be at the helm of his work and hold a certificate of professional license, in addition to work experience of at least three years as a school principal.
Teachers Council
The Teachers Council aims to involve teachers in the decision-making process, draw up institutional profiles and policies in positively contributing to the development of schoolwork and achieving student progress, engaging teachers in shaping the future, enhancing the current and future outcomes of education, and participating in maintaining the quality of professional and ethical standards supporting the attraction and motivation of teachers.
The council will consist of 14 members, two from each emirate. The membership length is set for two academic years, and teachers can nominate themselves or be nominated by the school branch and the school leader. The person wishing to join the council must have a certificate of specialized and professional license and experience between five to 10 years. Priority will be given to applicants with an evaluation that exceeds expectations during the past two academic years.
The Young Teachers Council will target teachers with teaching experience ranging from one to four years, provided that the applicant is not more than 30 years old and obtains an evaluation that exceeds expectations in the last academic year. Priority will be given to those who have received the professional and specialized license certificate.
The council aims to involve young teachers in the decision-making process and draw features and institutional policies to make the teaching profession one of the leading professions in the country. In addition, members will work on initiatives to support young teachers’ development and develop innovative entrepreneurial solutions to the challenges facing young teachers.
The council will consist of seven members, one member from each emirate, and the length of the membership will be limited to two academic years. A person can nominate themselves or through the principal of the school or school branch.
