Abdullah bin Zayed: Evaluating the performance of schools enhances transparency and improves the quality of education

v + T – normal size

His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Education and Human Resources Council, affirmed that achieving the future directions of the UAE depends mainly on building a high-quality educational system, which is continuously updated to meet the requirements of modern society and the changing global economy, stressing that this depends on Follow-up performance indicators and results related to the quality of education, and monitor and evaluate performance continuously and immediately.

This came during His Highness presiding over the Council meeting, which was held via visual communication technology, in the presence of Her Highness Sheikha Maryam bint Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairperson of the Salama Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation, Vice President of the Education and Human Resources Council, and His Excellency Dr. Ahmed bin Abdullah Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Education. Her Excellency Shamma bint Suhail bin Faris Al Mazrouei, Minister of Community Development, Secretary General of the Council, Her Excellency Dr. Abdul Rahman bin Abdul Manan Al Awar, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, Her Excellency Sarah bint Yousef Al Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology, Her Excellency Sarah Awad Issa Muslim, Minister of State for Early Education, and Her Excellency Jassim Muhammad Bu Ataba Al Zaabi, Chairman of the Department of Finance – Abu Dhabi, Dr. Abdullah Muhammad Al Karam, Director General of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority – Dubai, and Dr. Muhaddithah Yahya Al Hashemi, Chairman of the Private Education Authority – Sharjah.

The Council discussed several topics, the most prominent of which was reviewing the results of the performance of public schools in the country and the results of evaluating the performance of private schools in the country.

His Highness Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Chairman of the Education and Human Resources Council, welcomed at the beginning of the meeting Her Highness Sheikha Maryam bint Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairperson of the Salama Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation, Vice President of the Education and Human Resources Council within the Council team, wishing Her Highness success in its tasks and responsibilities.

He said: “Her Highness Sheikha Maryam bint Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has a real passion for developing the education sector and enhancing its quality..and her presence in our team in the council is a distinguished addition to our career in education..we wish her success and we are confident that her experience and extensive knowledge will be reflected in the work of the council and will play a role A real role in the education sector to achieve the bright future that we aspire to for the benefit of our children, youth and our country“.

His Highness added: “Today I saw the results of the performance of public schools and the results of evaluating the performance of private schools, and we will continue to improve performance and update the specific indicators to measure this. Today, we adopted an integrated plan to ensure that students enroll in the best performing schools in the country, by updating the framework for monitoring and evaluating the quality of performance to reflect a measure Accurate and unified between public and private schools in the coming years and under the supervision of the National Center for Education Quality. Raising the educational level of students and building a strong knowledgeable generation of citizens of the country is a top priority for us, in line with the aspirations of society and the needs of students and teachers.“.

His Highness said that linking the concepts of quality education with future aspirations would achieve high-quality educational levels as essential to achieving success and excellence in all fields, as schools are considered beacons that illuminate the path of education and human development for students of various educational stages, and enable them to discover their talents and develop their skills, and expand Their academic, cultural and work prospects“.

His Highness congratulated the schools that received a high evaluation in the quality of performance, and His Highness said: “We are proud of the schools that excel in the quality of their performance and are proud of their achievements, and we express to those in charge of these schools our deep appreciation for their continuous efforts in advancing the wheel of education forward in the UAE, their essential role in building future generations.” We wish them more distinction and success“.

For her part, Her Highness Sheikha Maryam bint Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairperson of the Salama Bint Hamdan Al Nahyan Foundation, Vice President of the Education and Human Resources Council, said: “We recognize the value of science … and we are committed to working according to our vision, by building an educational system that meets the needs of all students, and leads The people of the UAE towards more prosperity and sustainable progress“.

Her Highness added: “Therefore, accurate, unified and fair measurement and evaluation programs and tools are of great importance to success in achieving our aspirations, which contributes to monitoring the level of achieving our educational goals and directing our efforts towards improving the quality of education and raising the level of performance in the UAE educational system, both public and private.”“.

The Council discussed a comprehensive analysis of the results of the performance of public and private schools, and compared them with the results of schools in international tests. Education in coordination with all concerned parties and in accordance with international best practices in measurement tools, in addition to a number of policies for improving the performance of schools and the enrollment of national students in the best performing schools in the coming years..

For his part, His Excellency Dr. Ahmed Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Education, reviewed the results of the performance of private schools in the Northern Emirates, and explained that the Ministry completed school evaluation visits during the academic year 2022/2023 to 93 private schools in the Northern Emirates with their various curricula, and summarized the results in general that 10% of the schools in the Northern Emirates achieved good performance, while the schools that achieved an acceptable level reached 74%, while 16% of these schools achieved a poor level of performance..

Her Excellency Sarah bint Yousef Al Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Emirates Foundation for School Education, reviewed the results of students in public schools in both the central tests for the second semester and the development tests in mathematics. Map Growth And the international reading test “Perls PIRLSWhere different measurement tools were used to determine the students’ skills that require a basic focus from the institution.

Her Excellency referred to the plans that have been put in place to activate joint responsibility with students and parents, and plans to support schools and teachers to develop and refine these skills..

In the same context, Her Excellency Sarah Musallam, Minister of State for Early Education and Head of the Department of Education and Knowledge in Abu Dhabi, reviewed the system of standardized international examinations applied in private schools in Abu Dhabi, including the International Program for Student Assessment, noting the importance of the system in providing an important indicator on the development of the sector’s outputs. national education.

Her Excellency referred to the role of the assessment organization in enabling the department to monitor changes in students’ performance on an annual basis. While the authorities seek to improve students’ overall results at the international level, the priority is to ensure that they can achieve better results every year..

She added that the development of the education sector is a continuous strategic mission, in which every achievement opens greater horizons in which we ensure that its outputs keep pace with the ever-changing requirements of the labor market..

For his part, Dr. Abdullah Al-Karam, Director General of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority in Dubai, reviewed the most prominent results of school control operations in all private schools in Dubai that were subject to inspection operations in the current academic year 2022-2023 AD, and there are 199 private schools in Dubai, indicating that the schools have shown a commitment to improving their performance..

He expressed his appreciation for the contributions of parents and their support along with the educational community in order to provide high-quality education in Dubai.

For her part, Dr. Muhaddith Yahya Al-Hashemi, Chairman of the Private Education Authority in Sharjah, discussed the results of the “Mastery” program, which aims to develop and improve the quality of school performance in all its aspects. It was implemented from last October to March of this year, with the aim of evaluating the performance of 110 schools representing 10 curricula. different schools out of the total number of 127 private schools in the emirate.

She explained that the results of the current study monitored a significant and qualitative improvement in the performance of private schools in Sharjah, amounting to 68%, compared to the results of the previous evaluation conducted in 2018 and 2019. With the current results, the clear difference and the level of tangible improvement appear in schools, as now 97% of private schools in Sharjah offer acceptable education or better and 49% of schools provide good education or better, and thus the number of schools that provide good education or better has increased from 8 schools In the previous assessment, it decreased to 53 schools in 2023, and the number of schools providing acceptable education or less decreased from 94 schools in 2018 and 2019 to 56 schools in 2023.