UAE teachers need to be licensed by 2021, minister says

All teachers working in the United Arab Emirates will be required to obtain a licence by 2021.

Under a new scheme launched next year, teachers will have to pass a national examination and show a “portfolio of evidence” in order to work in both public and private schools in the UAE.

The six-month pilot project expected to be introduced next year will involve about 750 teachers, about one per cent of the nation’s teacher, according to the National Qualifications Authority.

The new system will be implemented over five years such that all teachers will be licensed by 2021.

Senior staff including headteachers, deputies and cluster managers will also require a licence, according to The National.

Minister of Education Hussain Al Hammadi told the newspaper that licensing will be phased in to give “an opportunity for teachers to prepare themselves”.

He added: “We are working with universities to make sure there is a training programme that will be available for teachers when we implement the full licence.”

The announcement comes following months of criticism of the educational disparities in the UAE.

Last month alone, 19 private schools teaching more than 20,000 pupils in Abu Dhabi were rated “weak” or “very weak”, out of which 14 had failed to improve since their last three inspections.

Lee Dabagia, head of school at Elite Private School in Abu Dhabi, told The National that many applicants for teaching positions had outdated qualifications and that a new licence would set a “benchmark” for standards.