H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed chairs virtual meeting of Education and Human Resources Council

H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation and Chairman of the Education and Human Resources Council, EHRC, presided over the council’s meeting held remotely on Sunday via video conferencing.

At the beginning of the meeting, Sheikh Abdullah thanked students, parents, teachers, administrative staff, authorities and educational institutions across the country for the outstanding achievements made during 2020-2021 scholastic year and for their dedication and keenness to continue the education process at all levels, in the light of the current circumstances.

"I congratulate the highest achieving students and their parents for the excellent performance which came as a result of their hard work and perseverance and the cooperation between the families and the educational institutions during these exceptional times," he said.

Sheikh Abdullah was briefed about the progress of educational authorities plans for the academic year 2021-2022, as well as the mechanism and efforts to ensure return to normalcy at school classes to enable the students to foster their skills and capabilities in a safe and healthy school environment. He emphasised the importance of adhering to the safety standards and preventive and precautionary measures.

He called for doubling efforts to encourage all workers at government and private educational institutions, parents and students to get COVID-19 vaccine for their safety.

Hussain bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Minister of Education, highlighted the national child protection policy in educational institutions, developed in line with Wadeema's Law and relevant international conventions. He said the policy reflects the UAE and its leadership's keenness to set the appropriate tools and procedures to guarantee child's protection and welfare.

He also underlined the principles and objectives of the policy for providing a safe school environment, free of any forms of violence, through a set of processes to protect the children's physical and mental health and to ensure that they have the highest cognitive, educational and ethical standards.

Jameela bint Salem Musabah Al Muheiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Chair of the Board of Directors of the Emirates Schools Establishment , updated the Council on the implementation of the operating policy for the continuous education system during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The meeting was attended by Hussain bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Minister of Education, Jameela bint Salem Musabah Al Muheiri, Minister of State for Public Education, Nasser bin Thani Al Hamli, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation, Abdullah bin Touq Al Marri, Minister of Economy, Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs, Shamma bint Suhail Faris Al Mazrui, Minister of State for Youth Affairs, and Sarah bint Yousif Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Sciences, Secretary General of the Council.

Other attendees included: Sara Awad Issa Musallam, Chairperson of the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge, Dr Abdulla Al Karam, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority - Dubai, Dr. Muhadditha Yahya Al Hashimi, Chairperson of Sharjah Private Education Authority, and Muhamed Khalifa Al Nuaimi, Director of Education Affairs Office at the Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Court.