ABU DHABI // Pupils will spend more time in classes each year under a planned overhaul of state schools outlined to principals yesterday.
The changes will also require pupils to stay enrolled at school until they turn 18.
The Minister of Education, Dr Hanif Hassan, met more than 100 principals and administrators yesterday to outline the ministry’s education strategy.
School principals, education zone directors and members of the Abu Dhabi Education Council gathered at the Officer’s Club as the minister outlined his plans for implementing the aims of the Federal Government strategy released by Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, in April last year.
Abdullah Musabah al Nuaimi, the director general of the ministry, said school attendance would become mandatory for Emiratis until year 12 – at present many children leave school before turning 18. He stressed the importance of teaching in both Arabic and English, and outlined plans to extend the school year from 173 days to 180.
The ministry also planned to increase student activities, merge special-needs students into regular schools and modernise deteriorating school buildings, as well as changing the system by which teachers are hired to require greater prior qualifications.
The strategy incorporates seven goals: to reorganise the ministry; to introduce a new curriculum, evaluation tools and procedures that rely on universal academic standards; to introduce modern infrastructure using modern technology; to enhance human resources policies and systems; to improve school facilities; to enhance professional development for teachers and principals; and to develop systems that enhance parent involvement in education.
Dr Hassan said considerable resources and energy had been dedicated to improving schools, but there was still a long road ahead.
“Every citizen of the UAE deserves the best education in the world, therefore we will accept nothing but the best for our children.”
He stressed the importance of teachers in implementing the strategy: “Teachers are, and will always be, the foundation of the education system. We are striving to strengthen their role and social and economic standing so that it is reflective of their importance in society.”
The state school system has long valued memorisation over critical thinking and most of the UAE’s 24,000 state school teachers and principals are not certified.
There is no regulatory body working to evaluate and rank schools, which makes it difficult for parents to assess schools, and allows failing institutions to fall well below international benchmarks without being penalised.
With the exception of some schools in Dubai, the UAE does not participate in Timms or Pisa tests, the international exams used to measure student achievement, making it impossible to know where the UAE actually ranks in education next to other countries.
Kathryn Lewis