Dubai: Talented students in grade seven and eight will have an academy to hone their skills and nurture their talent in ways that regular classrooms cannot, the UAE Minister of Education announced at the Knowledge Summit 2015 on Monday.
Hussain Al Hammadi made the statement at the first session of the three-day summit which is discussing innovation in education.
Al Hammadi said the new initiatives are not limited to schools and the ministry is also planning to work with universities to introduce programmes in scientific fields to develop student skills. The ministry, he said, is devising curriculums of UAE schools (public and private schools that follow the ministry’s curriculum), in collaboration with universities and different industries to close the gap between skills and recruitment as well as devising a curriculum that meets the requirements of the job market.
The National Qualification Authority, Al Hammadi said, conducts regular surveys of the job market in the country to determine the needs of the market and adjust the curriculum of UAE schools accordingly.
Al Hammadi said all ministers from Arab countries are welcome to learn from the UAE’s experience in smart learning and innovation. There should be a unified curriculum among all Arab countries, he said, adding that the UAE is planning to contribute by helping equip schools in Arab countries with the required infrastructure.
Elias Bu Saab, Minister of Education and Higher Education in Lebanon, one of the speakers at the session, said creating a curriculum that encourages thinking rather than memorising is important.
“We should also equip and train teachers to be able to grasp this new way of teaching. Exams should not be used to give students nightmares; they should be utilised as a form of evaluation,” he said.
Other speakers at the session included Dr Lahcen Daoudi, Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Management Training in Morocco.
The Knowledge Summit, organised by the Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Foundation (MBRF), brings together influencers and experts in the knowledge domain to discuss ways to employ innovation in the transfer of knowledge in fields such as education, scientific research and information technology.