A shake-up at the Ministry of Education. New hires. And new curricula. One must wonder, what does it take to prepare today’s youth for tomorrow’s futuristic workplaces?
Apparently quite a lot. The UAE has taken the decision to restructure its entire education system through a series of sweeping changes and reforms meant to improve state schools, early childhood development and youth education. The government has decided to appoint three new ministers.
Ahmed Al Falasi, currently Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs, became Minister of Education, overseeing public and private schools and universities nationwide, as well as supervising all legislations and policies related to education.
Sarah Al Amiri, an engineer who has led the UAE’s space agency during historic missions, including sending a probe to Mars and an astronaut to the International Space Station, has been appointed as the Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology as well as the Chairwomen of the Emirates Schools Establishment. She will develop a comprehensive plan to upgrade public schools
Last but not least, Sara Musallam has been appointed as the Minister of State for Early Education. She will supervise the newly established Federal Authority for Early Education and be responsible for developing comprehensive plans to follow up on child development from birth to the fourth grade.
What is the new structure? How will it work?
The new structure in the education sector will cover the Education and Human Resources Council, Federal Authority for Quality of Education, Ministry of Education, Federal Authority for Early Childhood Education, Emirates Schools Establishment, in addition to the local educational authorities in each emirate, which will operate according to one system and specific competencies.
Federal Authority for Quality and Standards of Education
The new Federal Authority for Quality and Standards of Education will be responsible for measuring educational outcomes, student performance, and the efficiency of the educational process. It will also be responsible for measuring the quality of education, auditing educational outputs related to education, early childhood education, kindergarten, public education, and higher education, in addition to submitting reports on the results and proposals to develop policies, strategies, legislation, and curricula.
Education and Human Resources Council
Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, will chair The Education and Human Resources Council. He will oversee the project of the Future of Education in the country.
The Council’s responsibilities will include planning the vision and objectives of the entire education sector in the UAE, developing the general framework for education and submitting it to the UAE Cabinet for approval, and developing educational policies and legislation. In addition, the Council will follow up on the performance of the sector.
Federal Authority for Early Childhood Education
This authority will develop and implement comprehensive plans to follow up on child development from birth until the fourth grade. It will be responsible for developing policies, strategies, legislation, and programs related to the education needs of the early childhood stage.
The authority will be responsible for issuing licenses and monitoring government and private nurseries in the country in coordination with local authorities and with parents to enhance their role in the early childhood stage.
Ministry of Education
The Ministry of Education will develop policies, strategies, and legislation related to public and higher education in the UAE.
The ministry will manage and develop the general education framework, curricula, and tools for government public education in the country, developing curricula for compulsory educational materials for private schools, setting standards and regulations, issuing licenses, and monitoring private schools in coordination with the local authorities.
The work of the ministry also consists of supervising international exams in the country and managing their implementation in all public, private, and higher education institutions, in coordination with the authorities. This is in addition to the recognition of public and higher education institutions operating outside the country, the equivalency of certificates and qualifications they grant, and ratification of certificates and qualifications issued by public and higher education and training institutions licensed within the country.
Emirates Schools Establishment
The new structure of the education system included the Emirates Schools Establishment, which also comes under the umbrella of the UAE Cabinet.
It will enhance the efficiency of the government schools and nurseries, supervise public schools in the country, and implement policies, strategies, and standards related to the development of the education sector.
The establishment will also be specialized in developing student care programs, activities and events in public schools, supervising their implementation, and proposing innovative and new models for operating public schools to raise their efficiency.
Education engineering in the Gulf
Following the Arab Spring, Gulf states underwent a massive reform in their education sectors. Education in the Gulf has since become synonymous with social construction, where the end citizen would be one who is made to think and analyze for themselves in line with the knowledge economy vision of the six GCC states.
Among the most important changes in the Gulf back in the early beginning of the twentieth century was increasing reliance on the English language at the university level, despite the fact that English language instruction in elementary and secondary public schools in the region remains weak. This strategy paid off, as, in 2020, the UAE has improved by four ranks (from 70 to 66) in the world’s largest ranking of countries by their English-as-a-second-language skill.
More recent changes include Qatar’s dramatic improvement in the English language as a direct result of introducing this language as a medium of instruction in all Qatari K-12 public schools. Indeed Qatar ranked fourth internationally and first in the Arab region in the World Education Quality Index issued by the World Economic Forum in Davos 2021. The small but opulent country was followed by the UAE in second place in the Arab region and tenth in the world, followed by Lebanon which ranked third in the Arab region and 25th internationally.
Last but not least, most GCC states have been working on introducing STEM education to youth and adolescents through school curriculums and independent workshops.
