The
Ministry of Education (MOE) and the Abu Dhabi Education Council (ADEC) have
affirmed that uniting the educational system in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi with
the federal system, spreading the UAE school model and upgrading the
educational system to achieve a unified national educational system will
contribute to achieving a quantum leap in the education sector in the UAE,
especially in the teaching methods, mechanisms and systems of interaction with
students.
The MOE
and the ADEC pointed out that the alignment of and challenge faced by the
educational system in the UAE are centered on unifying the educational systems,
policies and tracks of action of all UAE public schools, circulating the UAE
school model, enhancing the efficiency of the educational system in the UAE and
optimizing the available resources down to a unified national plan to improve
the functioning of the educational system in the State.
His
Excellency Eng. Abdulrahman Al Hammadi, the
MOE Undersecretary for Supervision and Support Services, said that
the MOE and the ADEC,
in accordance with the guidelines for the unification of the educational
system, formed a joint team in order to outline the details of the plan to
unify the educational system, and the study of the unification plan for each
basic educational track if agreed upon in detail. He also pointed out that the
preparatory and equipping processes were carried out to ensure a smooth start
of the academic year 2017/2018 and to ease assuming the responsibilities
resulting from the of public education subordination to the MOE at the state
level.
He
pointed out that the unification of the educational system will result in the
harmonization of curricula, evaluation and examinations with the MOE. He said
that the unification of the efforts made by the ADEC and the MOE are intended
to provide the best outputs and further developments of the educational system.
Furthermore, he pointedthe importance of working to identify the educational
priorities in the unified system and to provide it with the reasons for its
success and leadership.
"The
MOE will monitor the performance of schools in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in
order to match its internal laws, regulations, rules and policies with the laws and policies
of the MOE , provided that the ADEC is periodically informed of the
monitoring conclusions." He
added.
He pointed out that a committee was formed by the two
parties to consider the smart electronic educational systems and solutions and
the optimal accreditation of these systems to be circulated all over the UAE.
He pointed out that the MOE is committed to providing schoolbooks for the
academic year 2017/2018 for all subjects in all grades.
Dr Yousif Al Sheryani, advisor to Adec's director
general, said that, in cooperation with the MOE, ADEC has formed joint work
teams to work out plans to ensure a good start for the 2017-2018 academic year
and prepared transitional plans to achieve full harmonization in the academic
year 2018-2019. Several meetings and workshops were held during which these
plans were presented and discussed and the tasks and powers of the ADEC and the
MOE were agreed upon in the light of the process of uniting the educational
system at the state level.
His Excellency said "The process of unifying the
education system will take into account ADEC’s constant role in teaching
science and math in English as it is currently". He added that "an additional share of the
educational system in Abu Dhabi will be maintained in addition to the quotas
approved in the federal system. There
should also be co-ordination on teaching the extra class."
His Excellency said
"In accordance with the guidelines for the standardization of the
educational system, ADEC will be responsible for evaluating public and private
schools, while the MOE should be informed regularly of the results of such
evaluation. The MOE shall coordinate and agree with the ADEC before any
development, cancellation, addition, modification or generalization affecting
the educational system, provided that this does not impede the progress of the
educational process."
He added: "All students will have the freedom to
choose at the undergraduate level depending on the course followed, provided
that the general examination and university admittance conditions will be taken
into account. The 12th grade will be excluded from the federal study
systems in the specialized subjects during the transitional period. The 11th and below grades will be included in the new
school year 2017/2018 in the unified education systems."
The school readiness plan for the academic year
2017/2018 includes the alignment of the ADEC and MOE study plans for the
2017/2018 academic year, the delivery of textbooks for the first semester, the
delivery of educational and enrichment resources to all schools, and the
provision of e-books to school staff.
The evaluation policies for the 2017/2018 academic
year will also be harmonized and developed, the evaluation methods and tools
will be developed and implemented (by the end of the 2017/2018 academic year),
academic quality development officers and other trainers will be trained. In
addition to implementing a vocational development week, informing teachers of
the new curriculum.
School readiness plan for the school year includes
ensuring that teachers have access to educational resources on the networks,
and ensuring that ongoing training is implemented (to the end of the academic
year 2017/2018)
The ADEC and th
MOE agreed on some key points, including the teaching of English language, from
the kindergarten to the tenth grade, the preparation of the curricula of the
English language from the kindergarten to the twelfth grade and the provision
of textbooks, applying ADEC's curricula
in English language, mathematics and science from kindergarten through fifth
grade.
The agreement points also included the implementation
of the ADEC's technology, design and
innovation curricula and the provision of ADEC’s textbooks in the first,
second, third and twelfth grade. The MOE’s curriculum will be applied in the
other grades, as well as all the subjects in grade 6 through grade 11. It has also been agreed upon applying the MOE’s curricula in the Arabic
language, Islamic religion and social studies from kindergarten to 12th
grade. The MOE will provide all curricula in the e-library before the academic
year.
With regard to the evaluation and examinations, the tests will be standardized for all grades in the
following subjects (Islamic religion - Arabic Language - Social Studies) and
will be standardized for each subject in the transition material. The tests and
evaluation will be applied in accordance with the standardized evaluation and
examination policy, including descriptive and quantitative assessment, at the
beginning of the school year to be implemented this year.
The points of the agreement which aim at the
standardaisation of the educational system around the UAE for the purpose of
producing astandardised national educational system, confirmed that teachers meet the requirements
of applying the curriculum in the specialized training week at the beginning of
the academic year, and standardizing the training model of the ADEC and the
MOE, ensuring effective and continuous training.
It is worth noting that the unification of the
educational system at the state level will build an innovative educational
system for a globally competitive society that encompasses all ages and meets
the needs of the future labor market by ensuring quality education outcomes at
all state schools and providing outstanding services to students and all
educational staff.