Dubai: The National and Reserve Service Authority and the Ministry of Education have announced the launch of the university education project for national service recruits.
The project allows 12th-grade students of the 2020-2021 academic year - who will join the 16th batch and the subsequent batches - to be enrolled in the university education through “distance learning” system.
The move comes in line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to ensure that students continue their university education during the service period.
The announcement was made during a press conference held at the Armed Forces Officers Club and attended by Pilot Staff Major General Sheikh Ahmed bin Tahnoun bin Mohammed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Authority; Hussain bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Minister of Education, in the presence of a number of senior officers of the Ministry of Defence.
This step reflects the leadership’s endeavours to develop the national human cadres for the future, by ensuring that they join the national service, and at the same time, they continue their university education easily and without interruption.
Speaking during the conference, Pilot Staff Major General Sheikh Ahmed bin Tahnoun noted that the Authority, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education and other concerned parties, is fully prepared to overcome any difficulties that may face the implementation of this project.
For his part, Al Hammadi said that there will be no conflict between the student’s national service and his studies as the students will choose specific courses that will be scheduled during the evening hours.
The pilot period will be implemented in cooperation with a selected group of higher education institutions in the country, starting from the summer semester 2021 followed by the first semester of the academic year 2021-2022.
It is expected that 1,500 recruits of the National Service (batch 14 - high school graduates of 2019-2020) will be enrolled in the distance learning system.
The Ministry of Education called on all twelfth grade male students, who are expected to graduate in 2020-2021, to expedite the submission of registration applications through the national system for applying to higher education institutions to ensure their smooth enrollment in university studies while performing national service.
The implementation of the project will be followed up within a systematic plan during the coming period, in cooperation with all partners.
