DUBAI // The UAE is set to play a crucial role in helping to improve education across the Arab world under proposals to base a new regional centre in the country.
The aim of the Smart Learning Centre will be to “develop and build the capacity” of countries in the Middle East by using the UAE’s expertise in the use of technology in the classroom.
Although still at the initial discussion stage, the centre could help to train teachers from neighbouring countries.
It is a joint initiative between the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, the Ministry of Education, the Mohammed bin Rashid Smart Learning Program (MBRSLP), the United Nations’ ITU agency for information and communication technologies, and the Arab League’s Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organisation.
“We are still in the early stages but I think the model will be based on the work already done in the UAE by the Mohammed bin Rashid Smart Learning Program,” said Ebrahim Al Haddad, the ITU’s regional director.
“There’s no sense in trying to reinvent the wheel because a lot of good work has already been done regarding the use of technology in schools in the UAE.”
The exact form that the initiative will take is still unclear and it may be launched as a “virtual online” centre.
“We are still in discussions about the finer points and we may decide that a real building is required but, as yet, nothing is confirmed,” Mr Al Haddad said.
The lack of affordable access to technology was a major stumbling block in many countries in the region, but by using the UAE’s experience as a template, similar projects could be adopted more widely, he said.
The MBRSLP was established in 2012 to introduce technology to the education system to aid learning and teaching.
Speaking at the Smart Learning Forum in Dubai on Monday, Mohammed Gheyath, the programme’s director general, said great strides had been made.
“So far we have reached 49 per cent of government schools in the UAE with initiatives like tablet computers in classrooms,” he said.
By next year they expect to be in all 423 government-run schools in the country, and all students from grade seven to grade 12 will have the use of tablet computers in classrooms by 2019.
As of the 2014/2015 academic year, the project had reached 34,513 children in 203 schools, with 5,295 laptops for teachers and 1,735 smart screens.
“It’s not just a case of having computers in classrooms,” Mr Gheyath said. “It has to be done in a way that is sustainable and has a positive impact in the learning experience.”
Marwan Al Sawaleh, an undersecretary at the Ministry of Education, said the government was also encouraging private schools to join the smart learning process.
“The changes we have made so far have been very promising,” he said. “We are in contact with private schools in the UAE as well and have had a positive response to what we are trying to do.”
The next stage of discussions for the Smart Learning Centre will be in the new year.
“We currently have a basic draft proposal, which we will hopefully have finalised immediately in the new year,” Mr Al Haddad said.
“We can then move on to more detailed discussions on what form the centre will take.”
The Smart Learning Forum concludes on Wednesday.
nhanif@thenational.ae
