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UAE Minister of Education Calls on Private Schools to Exert more Effort in Promoting Local Values and Traditions

UAE, June 8, 2014 – H.E. Humaid Mohammed Al Qatami, Minister of Education, has called on the private schools across all levels to exert more efforts in the move to promote UAE’s values and traditions in their respective communities. Al Qutami stressed the need to inculcate and educate the students about local traditions by integrating these values into the administrative procedures and celebratory events such as graduation ceremonies.

H.E. Al Qatami added that the Ministry of Education recognizes the private education sector as the government’s strategic partner in this endeavor. At the same time, he underscored the need for the entire education sector, including schools, to comply with all learning assets, concepts and principles that promote UAE’s development, heritage, and rich culture. He said the existing systems and processes must not compromise the values that should be taught to the youth.
Further, he said the ministry, through its designated and specialized management, will closely monitor any deviation from the country’s traditions and violations of the rules and regulations governing the school communities. He said the ministry will not tolerate any violation and it will apply the law and implementing regulations as necessary. Meanwhile, the ministry also extended their congratulations to this year’s batch of graduating students.
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Ministry of Education Honours the Winners of the Emirates Award for Educational Excellence 2014

UAE, June 4, 2014 – H.E. Humaid Mohammed Al Qatami, Minister of Education, affirmed the ministry’s continuing role in the development of the local educational system, abiding by the request of H.H. Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE and Ruler of Abu Dhabi, and H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and the Supreme Council Members and rulers of the Emirates.

The statement of support was part of H.E. Al Qatami’s speech delivered during a ceremony honoring the winners of the Emirates Award for Educational Excellence 2014, which was organized by the Ministry of Education (MoE), sponsored by DU Telcom and evaluated by Dubai Quality Group. During his speech, he also announced the new categories with a special program aimed at spreading the culture of quality and excellence among students. The program is also meant to motivate them to always aim for the top by giving their best in every endeavor.
H.E. Al Qatami said: “The initiative made by the Ministry of Education in its pursuit of development is a direct result of collective teamwork, creative thinking, and consistent efforts, while the achievements given by the Ministry to provide the best possible education and a good school role model is the direct result of the dedication and team spirit, bringing together those responsible for the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. This gave the Ministry of Education the upper hand and a leading position. It won various awards and recognitions such as best government service via smartphones; the ‘Abnaee’ application; classification of center traders as a five-star service; the ‘Mohammed bin Rashid for Excellence in Government Performance’ awarded to team Mohammed bin Rashid for smart learning; and the ‘Prime Minister  Award’ given to Khawla Al Hosni. In addition, we also received the international prize of high-level strategic planning, and international award in networking social. All these recognitions showed the importance of sustaining our efforts towards our aim to become the most advanced and developed organization, with our ultimate goal of achieving global competitiveness.”
 “We still have a lot of work to do as we remain steadfast in our progress and continuously form strategic partnerships with national institutions such as DU Telecom and Dubai Quality Group. We extend our gratitude and appreciation to both organizations for supporting the Emirates Award for Educational Excellence. We congratulate all winners. Today, we celebrate the efforts of our employees across levels that have worked hard and performed well, which made them deserving to win the Emirates Award for Educational Excellence,” he added.
H.E. Marwan Al Sawaleh, MoE Undersecretary and Chairman of the Supreme Committee for the award, said: “The number of contenders now doubled compared to the previous edition. This reflects our employees’ passion for excellence and commitment to deliver better education. In addition, we are eager to consistently improve the quality of our performance. The award was launched to promote the principles of excellence and the culture of quality and competitiveness within the ministry and its affiliates.”
He thanked DU for its full support that directly contributed to the attainment of the award’s objectives. He recognized everyone’s efforts, teamwork and cooperative spirit as well. He also expressed his appreciation to the administrations of the educational zones.
Speaking on the occasion, Fahad Al Hassawi, Chief Commercial Officer, DU, said: “We are proud to collaborate with the Ministry of Education for the second Emirates Award for Educational Excellence. We congratulate the winners from the educational institutions, faculties, and administrative personnel who contributed and still contributing to the strengthening of the UAE educational system.”
Al Hassawi added: “Our partnership with the Ministry of Education is part of our social responsibility to educate the young people as our future leaders and achieve sustainable development. We are one with the objectives of the award in its efforts to promote quality and high standards in various fields of the learning process. A strong educational system leads to the creation of a generation of skilled graduates, who will eventually become leaders in the various institutions of society.”
For their part, the honorees expressed their appreciation to the ministry. They also commended the MoE for its development initiatives which focus on strengthening the performance and skills of its human resources, encouraging teamwork and promoting a healthy work environment.
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Participants from the Ministry of Education’s School Leadership Programme put Theory into Practice at Workshop

Dubai School Experiences Best Practice in Teacher Leadership
Dubai, UAE, 8 May 2014 – Educators engaged in the UAE Ministry of Education’s school leadership programme have heard from teacher professional development experts at an event held at Jumeriah English Speaking School (JESS). The participants of the School Leadership Programme (SLP) came from across the Emirates to witness international best practice in teacher leadership. The event provided SLP learners with an excellent example of how a high-performing school operates on a day to day level.
Participants also took part in a forum led by a number of education specialists, including representatives of the world’s largest learning company, Pearson.  Amanda Collins, Pearson’s Professional Development Director in the region, said the event provided a unique opportunity for programme participants to see first-hand how the theory they had learnt throughout the multi-dimensional school improvement programme could be applied in real-life classroom and administrative scenarios.
“A key focus of the School Leadership Programme, which is a joint initiative of Pearson and the UAE Government, is to provide a highly engaging and hands-on professional learning experience for the Emirates’ existing and future school leaders. Our research has shown that the most effective school leadership programmes are those that make practical learning a priority. In order to engage in critical inquiry and reflection, leaders need multiple opportunities to observe powerful, effective practice in action”.
A number of education specialists presented at the event, including Pearson’s Global Head of Direct Delivery, Steven Guttentag; JESS Director, Robert Stokoe; JESS Head Teacher, Ruth Burke; CEO of Taleem, Dr Samia Al Farra and CEO of the Indian High School, Dr Ashok Kumar.
Ms Collins said the event was a great opportunity to emphasise the importance of school leadership to the futures of learners currently in the UAE school system:
“A 2010 report by McKinsey and Company, and co-authored by Pearson’s Chief Education Strategist, Sir Michael Barber, found that good schools depend on good leaders. Capturing the Leadership Premium, which contained an international review of school leadership practices from some of the world’s leading education systems, found that aside from classroom practices which promote strong learner outcomes, nothing has a bigger impact on improving school standards than leadership. So if we are serious about improving learner outcomes in the UAE – which we are – we need to enhance leadership practice.”
The research contained in the Capturing the Leadership Premium drew on the resources of Britain’s National College for Leadership of Schools (NCLS), the organisation that has also been responsible for developing course resources for the MOE’s school leadership programme. Launched in 2013, the UAE School Leadership Programme, a flagship initiative of the UAE Government’s education reform agenda, will serve more than 700 Emirati educators, principals and administrators over the next five years.
About Pearson:
Pearson is the world’s largest learning company, operating in more than 80 countries around the world, bringing powerful learning solutions to millions of learners every year. Pearson takes learning personally. Our courses and resources are available in print, online and through multi-lingual packages, helping people learn whatever, wherever and however they choose. Our education imprints combine 150 years of experience and include online support for every learner.  Our innovative and dynamic digital learning products and services are changing the learning landscape all around the globe and our qualifications are positively transforming the futures of learners of all ages and backgrounds.  Pearson can boast a comprehensive English Language offering that consists of engaging content and cutting edge testing solutions. To find out more, visit www.pearson.com.
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UAE Ministry of Education Successfully Holds Preliminary Round of Girls Swimming Championship of 2nd School Olympics

Ministry provides highly supportive environment for athletically gifted students
UAE, April 27, 2014 – The UAE Ministry of Education successfully will host today (Monday 28 April 2014) the preliminary round of the girls swimming championship for the 2ndSchool Olympics. The event will be held at the RAK Educational Swimming Pool Hall, included the participation of 72 female students from the 9 to 12 year-old range; coming from Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah and East Sharjah. The girls swimming championship featured categories like the 25-meter freestyle competitions, 25 meters back and the 4 × 25-meter freestyle.

Supervised by Amina Al-Sakab, Head of Environment and School Activities Department, Ras Al Khaimah Educational District, said: “The project is a ‘dream’ event that is expected to teach our young athletes on the importance of practicing excellent sportsmanship and honing their ability to compete with the strongest-preparing them to win Olympic International medals in the future. Our students at Ras Al Khaimah are steady and ready for contributing in the success of the swimming championships.”
Sumaya Abdullah Harib Al Suwaidi, Director of Ras Al Khaimah Educational District, stressed on the significance of the School Olympics, a program that was implemented across the public school sector last year. She noted that the program is one of the most important initiatives that began with the blessing and the embodiment of the government vision and was made even stronger with the MoE’s support for the project.
Al Suwaidi said: “The School Olympics program is considered to be one of the pioneering initiatives that we hope to achieve positive results in the regional and international sports forums. The first edition of the School Olympics held last year, saw successful efforts of all those who worked in terms of organization and supervision of the project, especially in light of the circumstances that accompanied the launch of the Olympics.”
Meanwhile, the Boys swimming championship will kick off on Tuesday (April 29, 2014) in Dubai Educational Zone and will be hosted by Al Wasl Sports Club. The Boys category will include 25 meters freestyle, 25 meters back and relay 4 × 25 meters.