VAE: Adec bildet weitere Lehrer aus

Adec to train more Emiratis as school teachers: paper

As part of the Edaad Training Programme, launched last year by the Abu Dhabi Education Council to meet a target of 50 percent Emiratisation of the teaching workforce by 2018, the second batch of around 55 Emiratis are to undergo a four-month paid training programme soon to induct them into the teaching profession.

Edaad, which means training or development in Arabic, targets unemployed education graduates who have never worked as teachers, but have the academic credentials to do so. The Emirates College for Advanced Education will start providing the training this month.

"Adec needs qualified educators who spare no efforts to enhance their skills," Dr. Amal Al Qubaisi, Adec’s Director General, told The National daily, highlighting the programme which was designed to get Emiratis into public classrooms working as teachers.

"So those teachers are either specialised in a different speciality and we don’t have a need in that speciality, or they don't mind being reskilled and joining the workforce," said Salama Alameemi, Adec’s Executive Director of Organisational Development And Excellence.

The professional development training will include theoretical and on-the-job training focused on improving the graduates' classroom management, pedagogy and English proficiency skills, Ms. Alameemi said.

The teachers, who include two men, will receive a monthly stipend for their participation and a job placement on completion of the programme.

"That's why that programme was developed, because we don't want to miss any teacher who is willing to join the workforce," Ms. Alameemi said.

Adec currently employs 4,390 Emirati teachers and 3,231 Emirati administrative staff. Emiratis make up 39 percent of all teachers working in the emirate's public schools and 82 percent of the school-based administrative staff. The percentage of nationals working at Adec's headquarters is 66 percent.

The trainees were recruited by Adec with the help of Abu Dhabi Tawteen Council, ADTC, which maintains a database of Emirati graduates who are seeking employment.

To qualify, they have to have scored well on the International English Language Testing System and earned a minimum 2.5 grade point average. Applicants also had to pass an interview.

Last year, 37 teachers took part in the programme and 35 who completed it were hired.

"Nationals form a high percentage of the total number of employees, and Adec will exert all its efforts to increase this percentage," said Ali Rashed Al Ketbi, ADTC chairman.