Education officials are planning changes to the national curriculum in civic education, Islamic studies, Arabic language and social studies.
The National Curriculum Committee, chaired by the Minister of Education, Dr Hanif Hassan, met yesterday in Abu Dhabi.
Sheikha Khulood al Qassimi, the director of the curriculum department, said an overhaul of the civic education curriculum would be put in place during the 2010-11 school year.
“They made many major changes to the previous one,” Sheikha Khulood said.
The civic education curriculum is taught as a stand-alone subject in grades one to three, and in grades seven to nine.
It consists of six sections: national identity, law, government, human rights, economics and citizenship.
The social studies curriculum for kindergarten and grade 12 is also under development.
A revised Islamic studies curriculum was also introduced in schools this year, Sheikha Khulood said, and was being modified after comments from teachers and students.
Changes would also be made to Arabic language textbooks based on recommendations from teachers and pupils, and would increase the focus on reading, writing, speaking and grammatical skills, a ministry statement said.
They would apply to grades 3 and 7 in all state schools, as well as grades one and two at the ministry’s Madares Al Ghad schools.
Sheikha Khulood said the changes were being made as part of the ministry’s move away from rote learning.
Other changes to the state school curriculum that have been previously announced include expanding on environmental studies and human rights, which are due to be incorporated into existing subjects during the 2010-2011 academic year.
The curriculum committee was formed a year ago by the Cabinet to implement education reforms at state schools.
Its members include the Minister of State and Foreign Affairs, Dr Anwar Gargash; the Minister of Culture and Youth and Community Development, Abdul al Owais; and the secretary general for the UAE Cabinet, Najla al Awar.
The Ministry of Education announced last August it planned to adopt a standards-based curriculum developed by the Abu Dhabi Education Council.
But it has not said when the new curriculum, being used in the Ministry’s Madares Al Ghad schools, will be introduced nationally.
Sheikha Khulood said it may be introduced next year in select schools.
Dr Hassan said at the meeting: “We want our students to be talented and skilled and our teachers to be qualified.
“All our national programmes and projects are set according to international standards and our national curriculums are the main priority of the ministry.
“The new advanced curriculums embody the values of our nation and at the same time assure the creativity and talent of students.”
Kathryn Lewis