ABU DHABI // Teacher and student exchanges between the UAE and the United States could begin as soon as the next academic year following an agreement that the countries hope will help to reduce “misunderstanding” between the US and the Arab world.
Dr Hanif Hassan, the Minister of Education, signed a memorandum of understanding with Margaret Spellings, the US secretary of education, at a ceremony at the Emirates Palace hotel yesterday. It was, he said, “an honour” to ratify the agreement, which would have benefits beyond education.
There are already strong educational links between the two nations, with many American specialists helping to run the Madares Al Ghad, or future schools reform programme, which involves 50 government schools.
As well as exchanges, the new agreement also envisages the development of partnerships for teacher training and special-needs education.
“Education has a role to play in bringing our people together and to help us to understand each other better,” he said. “I look forward to strengthening the relationship between the two countries. There are so many areas that have potential.”
Ms Spellings said the agreement would lead to co-operation on “key issues”. “We have similar challenges and I’m excited to get to work on some of these areas of focus that are so universal,” she said.
Among the Americans working on school reform in the UAE is Dr Vincent Ferrandino, a former commissioner of education in Connecticut who is the Ministry of Education’s policy and planning director and head of the Al Ghad programme.
One of the benefits of the agreement for the US would be “the ability to learn more about Arabic culture and Islam, which is sorely needed in the US because there’s a great deal of misunderstanding about this part of the world. “We’re hoping that the exchange will help to break down some stereotypes.”
Dr Ferrandino said that as well as the exchange of teachers and students, there could also be transfer of “ideas and research that’s taking place in both countries”.
“There will be a point person from each country to co-ordinate these different exchanges, although we probably won’t see any until the next [academic] year,” he said.
Dr Ferrandino said attempts to introduce standards-based education and encourage creative thinking among students mirrored programmes the US had been working on for the past two decades.
“It’s a long-term commitment because change in the education field does not take place overnight. You have to keep working on it.”
Daniel Bardsley