DUBAI // Education chiefs yesterday announced a plan to restructure the education system that will result in more federal control of schools in Dubai and the Northern Emirates.
The Ministry of Education, which initially operated only in the areas of Education Policies and Support Services, will create three new sectors, or divisions. Within the next two months, dedicated divisions of the ministry will also handle Private Education, Education Operations, and Activities and School Environment Policies.
"This is a major restructuring for the ministry," the Minister of Education, Humaid Mohammed Obaid al Qattami, said yesterday.
"The new structure will help the ministry to reach the federal government objectives of Vision 2021 and our education strategy for 2010-2020."
The newly-formed Private Education division will oversee areas such as school licensing, inspection and quality assurance in schools.
The second new addition to the ministry, the Activities and School Environment Policies division, will deal with student counselling, health and nutrition, physical education, libraries, buildings and other facilities.
The management of information systems, developing special education programmes, public school supervision and inspection, and professional development will be the responsibility of the third and final new division, Education Operation.
All schools in the Northern Emirates - Sharjah, Ajman, Ras al Khaimah, Fujairah and Umm al Qaiwain - currently fall under a local education zone that answers to the federal authority.
The ministry's latest move is a radical shift from the policies implemented by the previous Minister of Education, Dr Hanif Hassan. When Dr Hassan took over the ministry in 2006, he pushed for more authoritative powers for the education councils and zones.
He reduced the ministry's scope of operation to two basic areas - developing policies and providing support services to the zones.
In 2005 and 2006, some of the ministry's powers were devolved to separate education bodies in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
Abu Dhabi's education system was decentralised in 2005 and placed under the administration of the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec). The move effectively made the council the sole regulator and developer of education policies for schools in the capital.
In 2006, the body that oversees Dubai schools, Dubai Education Zone, became the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA). At the time, some of the powers of the ministry were shifted to the KHDA as part of the federal Government's strategy to decentralise education.This latest restructuring seems to indicate a shift towards a more centralised strategy. It is not the first such move by the ministry; this month it took back control of public schools from KHDA, and reinstated the Dubai Education Zone in the emirate.
The ministry is scheduled to announce a further restructuring of the education zones in the Northern Emirates in four weeks' time.
Mr al Qattami said the restructuring of the ministry and zones had come after much deliberation and out of a need to raise the quality of education in all the emirates, while moving towards standardisation.
"The zones will be relevant for the practical application and daily processes in the schools, and we will be responsible for developing policies, implementing them in the zones and ensuring operations are in line with those followed by the ministry," he said.
The need for a centralised education strategy was debated by the FNC in March. They said the initiatives of local authorities in some emirates were hampering education progress in the others.
The minister did not say if this would mean a restructuring of KHDA and Adec, but stressed: "We will cooperate with all of them."
Elaborating on the role of the new Private Education division, Shaikha al Shamsi, the chief executive for education affairs said: "With the growing number of private schools in the country, a system for continuous quality assurance is important."
The private education sector will be looking into matters of fee regulation and the appointment of teachers.
aahmed@thenational.ae
Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
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TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
PROFILE OF STARZPLAY
Date started: 2014
Founders: Maaz Sheikh, Danny Bates
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment/Streaming Video On Demand
Number of employees: 125
Investors/Investment amount: $125 million. Major investors include Starz/Lionsgate, State Street, SEQ and Delta Partners
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
More on Quran memorisation:
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Four-day collections of TOH
Day Indian Rs (Dh)
Thursday 500.75 million (25.23m)
Friday 280.25m (14.12m)
Saturday 220.75m (11.21m)
Sunday 170.25m (8.58m)
Total 1.19bn (59.15m)
(Figures in millions, approximate)
Porsche Taycan Turbo specs
Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Transmission: two-speed
Power: 671hp
Torque: 1050Nm
Range: 450km
Price: Dh601,800
On sale: now
The%20specs
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The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
Company%20profile
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Company%20Profile
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Stamp%20duty%20timeline
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MATCH INFO
Austria 2
Hinteregger (53'), Schopf (69')
Germany 1
Ozil (11')
The%20Specs
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Reading List
Practitioners of mindful eating recommend the following books to get you started:
Savor: Mindful Eating, Mindful Life by Thich Nhat Hanh and Dr Lilian Cheung
How to Eat by Thich Nhat Hanh
The Mindful Diet by Dr Ruth Wolever
Mindful Eating by Dr Jan Bays
How to Raise a Mindful Eaterby Maryann Jacobsen
What is dialysis?
Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.
It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.
There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.
In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.
In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.
It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.
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