Wednesday, Sep 21, 2016

Abu Dhabi: A pilot project has been launched in the emirate of Abu Dhabi to license teachers according to upcoming federal requirements, the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec) announced in a statement sent today (September 21).

The Teacher and Educational Leadership Standards (TELS) project will see 400 teachers from public and private schools in the emirate complete 12 modules targeted at familiarising them with the national licensing scheme for teachers. Following this, the teachers will be expected to complete an assessment in order to demonstrate their understanding of the licensing process, which is expected to become mandatory for all teachers from September 2017 onwards.

The project will be conducted by the Emirates College for Advanced Education.

Dr Mohammad Baniyas, executive director of higher education at Adec and head of the pilot project committee, stressed the importance of teacher licensing ahead of the start of the pilot.

“Licensing teachers will improve their overall status, while providing them with further professional development opportunities and career paths. Teachers will be offered mobility [across the UAE], while the status of their work will be further elevated to ensure quality education,” Dr Baniyas said.

The Adec statement added that the authority aims to gather feedback about the pilot from teachers who participate in it.

Teacher licensing will be overseen across the UAE by the National Qualifications Authority and the Ministry of Education, in coordination with Adec, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority in Dubai, and other relevant entities.

Adec already sets strict standards for teachers recruited from abroad, who must have a bachelor’s degree in the subject they wish to teach and two years of teaching experience, in addition to being licensed as teachers in their home countries. In addition, they must also demonstrate English proficiency (IELTS score of 6.5 or more) to teach subjects like science, maths and English.

by Samihah Zaman Staff Reporter

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