British Council brings in an international professor in teaching the blind and partially sighted to students in the UAE

With more than 10 years of experience in teaching the blind, Professor Boguslaw Marek is regarded as an international authority in his field. He visit has been organised by the British Council and he is expected to hold meetings with several officials in the UAE to learn more about the special needs policies in the country, as well as to share hios latest research and experience in teaching of English to visually impaired young Emiratis.

"Professor Marek's visit will further enhance the significant efforts of the UAE government in supporting locals with special needs, especially that several ministries and local authorities in the country have expressed an interest in his pioneering methodology and practice and we look forward to identify further opportunities to share both he UK and UAE experiences of teaching blind and partially sighted learners and supporting future initiatives;" Jo Maher, Director Operations British Council UAE, explained.

She also pointed out that Professor Marek will be giving a free seminar to teachers in the community on Sunday 16 November at the British Council in Dubai at 2pm to help provide more information to teachers who are directly involved with blind and partially sighted students.

Dr. Eman El Naggar Gaad, Assistant Professor at the Department of Special Education at the College of Education at the UAE University, explained that Professor Marek's visit will allow him to get first-hand experience of the situation in the UAE.

"Our department is very active in training our graduates to teach students with special needs and last year around 70 students graduated from our college and they are qualified to deal with various types of disabilities, from mental retardation and visual impairment to other types of physical disability."

She added that training teachers to educate students with special needs is attracting increasing attention from the UAE University, which was the first educational institution in the Gulf region to set up a department of special education.

"I think it is very good opportunity to meet with Professor Marek because this issue is getting more attention as the authorities in the UAE are keen to ensure that people with special needs, especially students, receive a proper and suitable level of education, which requires us to train and develop a special teaching cadre," Dr. Gaad pointed out.

During his week-long stay in the UAE, Professor Marek is also scheduled to officials from the Special Needs Department at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, as well as officials from the UAE Ministry of Education.

In addition, Professor Marek will give two workshops to female students from the Dubai and Sharjah Women Colleges of Technology (HCT) on training and teaching visually impaired students and those with special needs.

"The workshop will offer the opportunity to students, who are preparing for their Bachelor of Education degree in teaching English, to become more familiar in teaching special needs students. Professor Marek commands a great experience in this field and it will be very helpful for them to learn directly from him," Tony Revill, Supervisor at the Centre for Applied Studies and Education (CASE) at the Women's College in Sharjah, explained.

He added that the workshop will be held for second year students as their curriculum includes learning methodologies for teaching to special needs children. "We are very pleased that Professor Marek is here, since this will help provide our students with valuable experience and allows them to learn about real life situations."

Professor Marek will also visit the Emirates Association for the Blind to meet with the members of the association and learn more about its work, the services it renders, as well as the challenges facing the 100 blind UAE nationals who are members of the association.