As a proud Emirati and chairman of Aldar Academies, a multicultural educator, I welcome the moral education initiative by Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Suepreme Commander of the Armed Forces.
It strives to promote tolerance by incorporating ethics, personal and community development, culture and heritage, civic education, and rights and responsibilities into the school curricula. I have every confidence that the initiative will not just succeed, but see its benefits extend far beyond promoting tolerance.
Instilling our morals and values in our children at a young age will not only help them develop as honest, caring and meaningful human beings, but it will benefit our society as a whole.
It is our children who will shape the future, so what they learn at school and at home today will be reflected in tomorrow’s society. For the UAE, looking forward to how today’s actions impact tomorrow is vitally important considering the pace at which the nation has grown, as well as the rapid diversification of the population.
As Sheikh Mohammed noted when announcing the initiative, the building of a nation relies on the ability to preserve the values and morals that helped it to emerge – more than its achievements. Ultimately, any economic or social accomplishment cannot be sustained unless society is grounded on a shared set of morals and values. For the UAE, our own set of principles is one of the two pillars holding up the success of the nation, the other being innovation.
As educators, we have a responsibility to teach and reinforce the UAE’s fundamental morals and values to position the country as a moral leader, just as it spearheads innovation. It is undeniable that the country’s achievements owe much to the values that helped us forge relationships with those from other nations and cultures.
For our prosperity to continue, these relationships must be encouraged while making sure the principles that got us to this point are not overlooked. Doing so has to start in the classroom.
Today, education focuses on skills that are most relevant to society, such as the STEAM subjects – science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics. For the UAE to continue on its upward path, our children must be taught these important skills in tandem with an understanding of how they can be good human beings. This is precisely what the moral education initiative aims to do.
When a young person is educated in these five elements, he can leave a positive impact on society. And when they do enter the professional world, where our education system enables them to achieve whatever they desire, these individuals have the power to make a positive difference to the lives of others.
We can understand the importance of moral education when we consider the direction in which Abu Dhabi is moving. The capital is eight years into its Economic Vision 2030 plan, the blueprint for where the nation wants to be. One of the nine pillars of the plan is “maintaining Abu Dhabi’s values, culture and heritage”, with which the initiative aligns directly.
Irrespective of whether moral education becomes mandatory for all schools or only Government institutes, all educators would be wise to follow Sheikh Mohammed’s lead. Aldar Academies couldn’t have earned the high status it now holds in the UAE had its curriculum not adopted a similar approach to the moral education initiative.
We welcomed Abu Dhabi Education Council’s new Arabic and Islamic studies requirements when they were announced last year, and embraced the “My Identity” programme, which seeks to strengthen the feeling of national identity among Emirati students.
Additionally, we were the first private educator to add UAE history to our curriculum. Moreover, we have created a teaching environment where students collaborate to help each other and society through reading projects, environmental work and sports leadership training. We see this approach as being fundamental to developing our students – both Emirati and expatriate – into intelligent, well-rounded people who have a deep appreciation and respect for the country they call home.
This thinking aligns with the moral education initiative, which is encouraging for Aldar Academies, as well as for me as an Emirati.
From my perspective, by combining moral education with 21st-century curricula and teaching methods, we have placed the UAE on a path towards sustainable prosperity – one that future generations can walk.
Mohammed Al Mubarak is chairman of Aldar Academies
