Mohammed Al Qasim: Committed to Enhancing Education Quality and Providing Modern Learning Environments
In a significant initiative reflecting the Ministry of Education’s dedication to strengthening national identity and Emirati values from early childhood, the ministry has announced plans to implement a comprehensive oversight scheme for private schools across the emirates.
Starting from the academic year 2025-2026, this plan aims to ensure compliance with the requirement to teach Arabic language, Islamic education, and social concepts in kindergartens and early primary grades.
Mohammed Al Qasim, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education, stated that private schools will be subjected to stringent, systematic oversight to ensure the serious implementation of standards pertaining to national identity education, particularly focusing on Arabic language, Islamic studies, and social concepts.
He explained that oversight teams and specialized offices will regularly monitor quality indicators and learning outcomes, emphasizing that adherence to these standards directly influences the establishment of identity and values while enhancing students’ linguistic and cognitive skills.
Al Qasim underscored the ministry’s ongoing efforts to enhance oversight of private schools to guarantee quality teaching aligned with established criteria, highlighting that implementation guides have been disseminated to serve as a roadmap. He remarked, “These comprehensive efforts embody the ministry’s commitment to improving education quality, reinforcing national identity, and providing modern learning environments that prepare our children for future skills.”
Field Visits
He noted that the planned oversight will follow a structured approach that includes field visits, monitoring committees, and evaluative reports, ensuring the practical application of the mandatory guide recently approved by the ministry.
This initiative is part of a broader vision aimed at nurturing a generation that values its mother tongue, is connected to its religion and social values, and remains grounded in its cultural roots, thereby enhancing its future presence in academic and community spheres.
He clarified that the oversight plan will consider the diversity of private schools in the country and their varied curricula and languages, while all schools will remain obligated to teach national subjects in accordance with approved standards, as these are integral to the educational framework in the Emirates.
Additionally, the guide includes the integration of family concepts, geography, the UAE environment, and social values into the curriculum, using a simplified approach based on educational activities and games, tailored to children’s developmental characteristics.
Encouraging Environment
The ministry indicated that the objective of this move is for children, from their early years, to learn how to belong to their homeland and take pride in their culture through a stimulating classroom environment and interactive educational tools that facilitate enjoyable knowledge acquisition while supporting their cognitive, emotional, and social development.
The ministry affirmed that it will not only focus on curriculum development but will also monitor teaching methods and assessment strategies to ensure proper implementation.
It emphasized that kindergarten and the initial educational phase are foundational to building a student’s personality; therefore, they will receive top priority through a comprehensive suite of educational measures.
Al Qasim stressed that the ministry aims through this plan to achieve a balance between the unique global curricula implemented by some private schools and the necessity to uphold the Emirati student’s identity and values.
He added that the ministry believes that national identity is not an optional component but a fundamental pillar of any successful educational system and will remain central to every future educational initiative or policy.
Comprehensive Plan
Al Qasim outlined that the ministry has developed a comprehensive plan for public schools that includes intensifying the teaching of Arabic language and Islamic education, in addition to dedicating daily sessions for reading and writing in early grades, utilizing modern educational resources and interactive tools.
He affirmed that this approach enhances students’ linguistic proficiency and provides higher quality and interactive educational opportunities, positively impacting their academic performance in subsequent stages.
The ministry plans to conduct a baseline assessment of first-grade students’ Arabic language skills in 100 public schools as a first phase, aiming to identify students’ levels early on and determine strengths and areas needing support.
Corrective Strategies
Al Qasim stated that this assessment will enable teachers and school administrations to devise corrective and developmental plans that will support students from their entry into school through their advanced academic stages, thus enhancing the quality of learning outcomes.
He emphasized that the ministry is committed to building an integrated educational system that places students at the heart of the learning process while providing an environment that combines quality curricula with deep-rooted national values.
He noted that this strategy, beginning from early childhood, will position Emirati students as exemplars of balancing global openness with pride in local identity.