Launching the Award of "Mohamed bin Zayed for Best GCC Teacher"
Under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, the "Mohammed bin Zayed Award for the Best GCC Teacher" (MBZ Award) has been launched today in Abu Dhabi, as the Award has in its content an extraordinary educational thought and grants valuable awards for the winning teachers, which amount to 6 million Dirhams.
This announcement was made during a press conference held today at the Ministry of Education at its headquarters in Abu Dhabi, in the presence of H.E. Hussain Al Hammadi, Minister of Education and General Supervisor of the Award, H.E. Dr. Ali Abdul Khaleq Al Qarni, Chairman of the Higher Committee of the Award, Mohammed Khalifa Al Nuaimi, Director of the Office of Education Affairs at the Court of the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, and member of the Supreme Committee of the Award, H.E. Abdulrahman Al Hammadi, Vice Chairman of the Higher Committee of the Award, and Dr. Hamad Ahmed Al Darmaki, Secretary General of the Award.
MBZ Award, which covers countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), is based on five criteria that express, in its entirely, the basic integrated aspects that should be acquired by the teacher, which reflect his career and accomplishments that are reviewed by the Award, to measure their positive reflections on the educational process and its elements in the GCC countries (scope of the Award). The Award includes the following criteria: excellence in achievement, creativity and innovation, development and sustainable learning, positive citizenship, allegiance, national belonging, and communal and professional leadership.
MBZ Award grants 6 million Dirhams; one million Dirham for each winner teacher, in addition the best 30 Award winner teachers will receive training courses in the most prestigious institutions and international expert houses.
Unique Goals
H.E. Hussain Al Hammadi said that MBZ Award is the first of its kind and characterized by its value and the size of its participation, as well as its uniqueness with the goals and standards that emerged for it.
During the press conference, H.E. confirmed that the wise leadership represented by His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the UAE, considers education as a strategic goal, thus harnessing all the potential supporting this purpose.
H.E. added that the Award is promoting a solid ground to advance the educational process, especially as the Award targets the teacher, who is the pillar of the educational process, to move forward in a developed, advanced and distinctive path of education in the GCC.
H.E. said that we look at the teacher from a different perspective because he has a noble mission that has a noble educational values, in which the UAE seeks to prepare and rehabilitate optimally the future generations to overcome important stages in the Bin's development process and the transition to a sustainable knowledge economy based on innovation and creativity, in addition to instilling the students with the skills of the 21st century, according to the directives of the leadership that considers the teacher as a milestone for a real start to modern education of the first class.
H.E. considered that the Award goes beyond its scope of objectives (honoring outstanding teachers) as it devotes a new vision and a long-term perspective to excellence in education. The Award is also sponsored by the highest leadership in the Bin; it seeks to promote the advancement of teachers not only on the local level, but on the Gulf level too. Such annual awards are used as an important tool to stimulate the educational field to provide his best performance, work and productivity.
A modern vision for education
H.E. explained that in launching its new educational plan to meet the directives, aspirations and objectives of the Bin's leadership, the Ministry of Education placed the teacher at the forefront of its agenda and top priorities. This is due to several interrelated considerations, where its importance lies in the teacher's ability to crystallize a modern vision of innovative education through his thoughts, experiences and ambitious visions. H.E. pointed to the pivotal role of the teacher in providing education with the required momentum and moving it to high and advanced levels.
H.E. pointed out that the teacher before being the owner of a message dictated by this noble profession, the Ministry considers him a key partner and influential in the educational process, therefore the Ministry has provided him with ways to participate in the formulation and drafting of strategies, proper planning and enabling him to play new roles in the mainstream of the educational process, through the diversification of educational practices and teaching methods, as well as modern management, providing stimulating learning environment for students and the discovery and care of talented students.
H.E. also praised the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, for launching the Award, which he considered to be of great value and importance through its expected results by motivating teachers (males and females) to excellence in the performance of their noble mission and to innovate methods of teaching students, in addition to highlight outstanding teachers in the field of education, to serve as role models for other teachers and be the leaders of the future in the field of education.
A distinguished presence of the UAE
For his part, H.E. Dr. Ali Abdul Khaleq Al-Qarni, Director General of the Arab Education Bureau, Chairman of the Higher Committee of the Award, said that the work in the field of education at the level of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries has been shaping its features for several years with sincere efforts by educational decision-makers to develop modern educational systems, which are related to general or higher education, to make a qualitative leap in it, by taking the experiences of Gulf and the developed countries in the education sector and exchange of experiences and diversification in the areas of unified work.
H.E. added that the GCC countries have produced positive results at various levels, including education through strengthening its frameworks, pillars and continuing work on improving its tracks, aiming at benefiting those countries who believed that education is a strategic goal and have harnessed the various possibilities.
H.E. pointed out that the UAE is one of the countries that have maintained its distinguished presence and its continuous coordination in providing education with the reasons of its development and success. The UAE's improvement efforts have been evident, the most recent of which is the MBZ Award, under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. The Award is considered to be one of the largest educational initiatives in the GCC.
He said that the UAE, under the leadership of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, has established the joint GCC work in various fields and has strengthened its support frameworks, especially in the field of education, which we are witnessing.
The teacher is a cornerstone
For his part, H.E. Eng. Abdulrahman Al Hammadi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education for Supervision and Support Services, Vice Chairman of the Higher Committee of the Award, said that the Award reflects a deep vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, which relies on providing education in GCC with elements of development, through promoting the teacher who is considered to be the cornerstone of the educational process in its march of development, work, motivation and creativity.
His Excellency praised the initiative, which translates the goals of the GCC in an important aspect of its goals and future vision for education, pointing out that the teacher remains the basis foundation in the educational system and the secret of its development. Therefore, this Award is launched to address the distinguished teachers, and push the wheel of education forward by stimulating the educational field for exerting further work and educational achievements in order to achieve the desired educational objectives that we are looking for.
Leadership interest in education
For his part, the Office of Education Affairs in the Court of Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, confirmed that this unprecedented Award, in terms of its importance, objectives and scope, stems from the interest and keenness of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to strengthen the supportive frameworks for the teacher, as His Highness believes in the importance of the teacher, and his vision for the future of education and stimulating steps that provide more effective educational mobility not only in the Bin, but in the GCC countries.
Dr. Hamad Al Darmaki, Secretary General of the Award, said that the launch of the Award on the scope of GCC reflects the vision of the wise leadership of the UAE to highlight the teacher and promote the best practices to support him. He also stressed that the development of education begins with the teacher, and all efforts are currently focused on achieving a real leap in the educational systems at the level of GCC, which is an objective imposed by the current duties in order to preserve the gains, and to achieve further achievements.
He explained that the Award is valuable in its components, objectives and standards, which were derived from the best international practices in the field of education.
He added that the award is also a value in terms of assigned rewards for outstanding teachers, noting that the best six teachers will receive a reward of 6 million Dirhams, one million Dirhams per teacher, and the best 30 teachers will receive training courses to learn and benefit from the best international educational practices.
It was mentioned that specialized educational and administrative committees have been formulated to evaluate the participating teachers according to the specific conditions. The application process will be conducted electronically through the following website: www.mbzaward.ae
Award criteria
Al Darmaki said that the award is based on five main criteria that must be specified in the teacher who wishes to participate. The first criterion "excellence in achievement" emphasizes the need to highlight the achievements of the teacher through pioneering initiatives and programs and their impact on the performance of the school in general and students in particular. This is in addition to the teacher's achievement impact on the students' grades, the teacher's contribution to improving students' performance and learning in previous years, the achievements of the teacher compared to individual goals, the ability to exceed individual goals and exceed expectations in previous years, and the praise the teacher received from students, parents and colleagues, along with regional and global awards achieved by the teacher and appreciation by the media and social networks, in addition to supporting the culture of reading among students.
The second criterion "creativity and innovation" includes other basics; such as highlighting the innovations made by the teacher inside or outside his field of work, and its impact on the community. For example, the teacher's use of innovative teaching methods, the use of technology, advanced systems, the use of unusual means and techniques in the field of education, and the dissemination of the culture of innovation among students and co-workers, and involve them in their fields and stimulate them.
The third criterion "sustainable development and learning" focuses on the scientific degrees of the teacher, the efforts exerted to raise the educational attainment, the number of hours of professional development he has acquired in the past years, and the skills of communication, language, technology and specialized skills in teaching. This is in addition to the teacher's active memberships in accredited local and international educational organizations and institutions, and their impact on the development of the educational process in general and the self-development of the teacher in particular, the dissemination of knowledge in the academic environment, and the additional training courses that were passed outside the training plan.
The fourth criterion "positive citizenship, allegiance and national belonging" includes the concepts of citizenship and national identity, as well as explaining the history of the country through various training methods and practices, spreading concepts of tolerance and dialogue, respecting cultural and ethnic diversity, providing the teacher as a role model in positive citizenship for his students, enhancing the students' sense of responsibility, developing a sense of security (homeland security - raising awareness of the dangers of extremist ideology - drugs - crimes), instilling pride in the homeland and leadership, and the importance of sacrificing in defense of protecting the homeland's achievements, and instilling the culture of respecting national laws and legislation.
The fifth and final criterion "communal and professional leadership" sets additional measures for the teacher: encouraging others to join the teaching profession through media, social networks and other channels, providing support to colleagues in the field of professional development, building relationships with schools from around the world, encouraging the programs of mutual visits to students and developing the concepts of peaceful coexistence. This is in addition to the volunteer work that the teacher participated in organizing or implementing, its impact on the community, the official voluntary institutions that the teacher is affiliated to and the impact of that on the service of the community, as well as the awards and praise received by the teacher in the field of volunteering and the effective and positive communication with parents.
18/04/2017
