Teacher licensing scheme delayed

Education authority says the initiative to lift the quality of teaching will, however, be rolled out in time to meet UAE’s goals.

‘We are working with the National Qualification Authority to develop the criteria for the licence, but the aim is for everybody to have this qualification,’ says the KHDA’s head. Alex Atack for The NaShow more

DUBAI // A proposed nationwide teacher licensing scheme that was due to come into force last year is still on the cards, according to the head of the emirate’s education regulator.

The Ministry of Education had initially said in 2014 that the licensing scheme was due to be introduced in 2015.

The scheme aims to create a standardised system to improve the quality of teaching.

Initially slated to be introduced last year, the scheme would nevertheless be rolled out in time to meet the goals of the National Agenda 2021, said the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA).

“We are working with the National Qualification Authority to develop the criteria for the licence, but the aim is for everybody to have this qualification before they will be allowed to teach in class,” said Abdulla Al Karam, KHDA’s director general. He was speaking on Monday on the sidelines of a KHDA conference.

Principals and teachers welcomed having the licensing scheme, although the KHDA did not say when it would be introduced.

“In Germany you have to spend five years at university before you are even allowed into a kindergarten to teach,” said Ludger Bar, head of kindergarten at the German International School Dubai. “In other countries it may be two or three years, so there needs to be some way to bring about a standard that will be applicable to everyone.”

One possible solution was to have a system that requires teachers to meet a central standard that demands varying degrees of extra training depending on teachers’ experience and qualifications, said Mr Bar.

There are 157 schools in Dubai that provide early years education to 55,034 pupils, who make up 22 per cent of the total pupil population.

“There needs to be discipline in learning and, more importantly, early years educators have to build trust with the children in their classrooms,” said Bogusia Matusiak Varley, an early years educator from Britain. “It is in early years that we set the foundations for learning.”

Presently, teachers are expected to have at least a bachelor’s degree or an equivalent university degree.

The licensing scheme will require expatriate and Emirati teachers in public and private schools to register for a course and successfully complete a test before being given a licence.

An estimated 60,000 teachers will have to do that when the licensing scheme takes effect.

Stephen Chynoweth, principal of Gems Wellington Primary School in Dubai, said great strides had been made in the past five years to lift teaching standards in the emirate.

“I would like to see the criteria for the licences to at least include a high standard in the core curriculum like maths, English and Arabic, as well as newer things [such as] digital literacy,” he said.

However, academic qualifications should not be the sole focus for the teaching licence to be awarded, Mr Chynoweth said.

“I’ve seen cases where people have amazing qualifications from the top universities but they are simply not cut out to be teachers,” he said. “At the same time, there are people with degrees and diplomas from less well-known universities but due to their life experiences are fantastic teachers.”

* This story has been amended since it was first published.