Abu Dhabi Education Council launches 3rd annual Bedaya Forum

Day 1 forum which took part at the Abu Dhabi International Exhibition Centre 'ADNEC' was dedicated to teachers and administrators in Abu Dhabi schools, while the second day is dedicated to teachers and administrators from Al Ain and the Western region.

ADEC aims to organize this event annually to encourage communication, develop a clear work vision during the new school year, discuss all aspects of modern education and its strategic plan designed to achieve that transition from traditional to modern interactive education as part of the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030.

During the forum, Dr. Al Khaili stressed, "The Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030 calls out for economic growth by about four times and imposes a different future economic environment."

H.E spoke about the variables affecting the expansion of infrastructure and the provision of services for citizens and residents, while integrating the roles of both private and public sectors, as well as increasing the Governments expenditure ceiling.

The ADEC Director General added, "Further dependence on oil as a source of economic growth threatens to reduce GDP per capita and this requires diversifying the sources of economic growth, noting that the process of diversification and the sustainable knowledge economy are based on education and building human capital."

Education represents 16% of the Abu Dhabi Government performance indicators 2012 which confirms the great importance given to education as a basic priority of the process of development and sustainability said Al Khaili, highlighting the roles of schools in future skill building using the New school Model method for all school Cycles in a gradual manner based on the latest research education, noting that the next stage requires cognitive and knowledge based skills that are consistent with 21st century requirements.

Al Khaili added, "The strategy currently in place within the comprehensive roadmap addresses educational challenges at the organizational level in accordance with four phases, namely: initiative, launch, integration and empowerment. As for the challenges, they consist of three levels: educational environment such as curriculum, learning outcomes , leadership skills, educational skills and school environment, as well as the challenges of infrastructure such as schools, facilities, educational resources and informatics infrastructure and availability of data control. The third level consists of student challenges such as participation and contribution of parents and students skills and results."

H.E added, "The parents' satisfaction survey indicates the success of the new school model at kindergartens and Cycle 1. Results show that the more parents share in the educational process of their children, the higher the level of teacher performance."

There is a professional development plan for teaching staff, said the ADEC Director General, which consists of three phases: the foundation stage for the transfer of international expertise and establishing UAE nationals capacity, the empowerment phase to activate the new school model and enhance Emirati capabilities, and phase three which consists of entrepreneurship that relies on UAE staff and inculcating the principle of continuous improvement.

Al Khaili congratulated the teaching and administrative staff for their achievements during the last school year, stressing the need for shared efforts by teachers, principals, parents and technical staff to meet arising demands during the next academic stage.

H.E. identified 9 priority areas to focus on during the next period. They include: Emiritization, professional development , monitoring the application and activation of the new school model, as well as communication with parents , benefit from support systems for the management of schools , the focus on institutional effectiveness, quality of classroom education and focus on exam results including local and international benchmarking for Cycle 3, activating activities such as extracurricular initiatives to develop and improve students ' behaviors like the Al bayareq and geojesto.

Summary on the stands participating at the Bedaya 2013 Forum

Nibras Scolarship Stand:
Nibras programme aims at future industry leaders in education system in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. Moreover, it aims to raise the level of competence and invest their talents needed by schools in Abu Dhabi Education Council, and to prepare young students for making the vision of Abu Dhabi.

The programme gives the opportunity for teachers to obtain foreign study scholarships including theoretical studies at international universities and practical training at the best institutions. Teachers receive a master's degree on educational leadership upon completion of scholarship. 60 UAE teachers and 40 principals were sent on scholarships since the launch of the programme.

Bayanati Service ( My Data)
Provides updated data service for teachers and administrators through the electronic print system, as well as informing them about how to use the software applications to update their data by themselves periodically.

Majlisee Programme ( My Council)
A special discounts programme for all staff of Abu Dhabi Education Council, plus exclusive offers in supermarkets and a wide range of retail stores, hotels, restaurants, health clubs and other attractions in the UAE. The programme reflects the Abu Dhabi Education Council appreciation for its employees and is one of the initiatives to reward its employees for their hard work, dedication and commitment

Information Technology ( IT):
This stand is dedicated to providing comprehensive information about schools with networks and modern technical means applied recently at schools.

It also aims to familiarize visitors with all software and applications launched by the Department of information technology, in addition to special sections highlighting

Future Schools:
This stand familiarizes participants in the Forum with the Abu Dhabi Education Council Programme of schools of the future. The project aims to develop an integrated infrastructure for the education sector in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the construction of new modern schools of world-class levels in different locations in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and the Western region. The stand supervisors will reply to all enquiries related to the project in addition to displlaying models for these schools.

General Services Department:
This stand offers a variety of services for teachers such as requests for accommodation, residence permits measures , procedures for medical examination, as well as questions about financial procedures and other services provided by the General Services Department.

Schools Merge:
This stand provides comprehensive information about the schools merge that took place during the past school year, in addition to the schools that will be merged in the coming years. This merge plan aims to improve the learning environment by merging schools that does not have the school population acknowledged by international standards, as well as the closure of some schools of old buildings. Visitors of the Forum will be able to ask questions about new school buildings, the transfer of students due to the merge process and the impact on the issue of transportation and accommodation area.

eSIS Programme: This stand offers electronic student information (eSIS) for participants about ways to use it and benefit from it effectively. This software is used on a daily basis by teachers and administrators to register new students, grades, attendance, absence and other important information relatted to students.

Moreover, it is is used to perform administrative tasks, such as tranxsfer of students among schools, as well as the possibility of accepting registration applications and electronic data transfer via the Internet and to enter grades and print certificates through the system at the end of the school year.

Tamkeen Programme:
Tamkeen Programme provides information about professional development for skilled qualified teachers and school leaders .Supervisors at the stand provide comprehensive information on all training materials related to standards of competencies and benchmark to international best practices.

The 3 year old programme which was launched in February, 2012 provided training for school leaders and teachers. 182 schools participated in the programme in 2012. In addition, 265 schools will participate in the programme in the academic year 2012/13.

Stand supervisors will also provides information about school leadership training programme, teacher training for the academic year 2012/13 through training needs analysis.

Health,Safety & Environment ( HSE):
Safety and health Stand aims to familiarize participants in the forum about the introduction of environment, health and safety systems approved by the Abu Dhabi Government, through Abu Dhabi Center for environment, health and safety. It aims to familiarize schools with health and safety requirements and standards of the Council in order to maintain safety and health for students, teaching and administrative staff.