His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, chaired the second meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Sharjah Education Academy (SEA) for the year 2024 at the academy building in the University City in Sharjah.

At the start of the meeting, His Highness, the Ruler of Sharjah, extended a warm welcome to all attendees. He commended the remarkable progress and development achieved by the academy in the previous period. This progress culminated in the graduation of a new batch of students on May 26 of this year. His Highness acknowledged the efforts of the Board of Trustees and the Academy’s administration for their significant contributions to supporting and attaining the desired goals in the educational process. Their efforts aim to improve the educational process at all levels and stages, including the enhancement of teachers, with the ultimate goal of achieving the best educational outcomes across all levels.

In the meeting, the Council discussed a variety of important subjects, including the academy’s performance in different fields, its upcoming projects, and the reports from specialized committees. Moreover, the Council evaluated the advancement of educational projects in the emirate, emphasizing the Academy’s dedication to its broader educational initiatives.

His Highness emphasized the significance of the teaching profession and instructed that comprehensive support be extended to teachers, including training and qualification. He stressed the need for continuous professional development programs for teachers and directed the Academy to devise a strategic plan to attract more teachers to enroll in its programs. Furthermore, he highlighted the importance of collaboration between libraries in educational institutions to enhance their role in society, especially for teachers. His Highness also mentioned that the recent graduation from the academy included 535 teachers and schools, in partnership with the University of Helsinki in Finland. Despite the considerable cost of this program, he emphasized that their graduation is not only a significant achievement for Sharjah but also for all schools in the country due to the high qualifications attained by the graduates.

The Council has given the green light to develop a strategic plan aimed at expanding the school system in Sharjah. This initiative aims to ensure that the emirate has a sufficient number of schools to cater to the growing demand from school-age children.
The council also approved the establishment of new nurseries that meet the highest safety and security standards in the near future to accommodate the growing demand from parents. The decision to open these nurseries was based on statistical data regarding the number of children on waiting lists in each region of the emirate.

‏‎During the meeting, His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah highlighted the excellent progress in completing and expanding nurseries. Many new nurseries have been built recently, and the existing ones have been expanded to accommodate more children. There are plans to establish additional nurseries in Sharjah city, Muhadhab area, Kalba, Khorfakkan, and Dibba, as well as in the central region. Currently, there are 232 pending applications for registering children in Sharjah, with a total of 813 applications across other regions and cities of Sharjah. This number is expected to increase with the opening of new applications at the beginning of next month.

His Highness emphasized the significant role of the Sharjah Education Academy in professionally training and graduating both male and female teachers for nursery education. These graduates specialize in education, teaching, and learning, leading to noticeable improvements in the care and education of children in nurseries. The academy’s use of the latest and scientific methods in early education is clearly reflected in the way children are nurtured and educated in nurseries. “If we start off well, we will be on the right path in educating this individual,” His Highness said.

His Highness has instructed the creation of an all-encompassing central kitchen in every area of the emirate. The purpose is to offer meal preparation services for children in nurseries across all regions of Sharjah. This initiative aims to safeguard the children’s health, ensure they receive proper nutrition, and consider their psychological and educational well-being.

Before the meeting, His Highness conducted a thorough tour of the academy, inspecting various new facilities, administrative departments, and organizational units. Additionally, he took the time to examine the academy’s specialized library and student lounge, familiarizing himself with the range of services offered by different departments, as well as the academic and scientific environment that provides a conducive setting for both professors and students to pursue their studies and research. Furthermore, His Highness had the opportunity to review the academy’s accomplishments since its establishment in 2020.

During the tour, His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah examined four research papers prepared by graduates of the first batch of the Master Teacher Leadership Programme. These papers focused on various topics, such as play-based learning strategies for social, communicative and linguistic development among early childhood English language learners in the United Arab Emirates, the effectiveness of story-based teaching in pre-school education, the impact of music and movement activities on learning and behaviours in the pre-kindergarten stage, and the use of differentiated teaching methods in learning outcomes and levels of participation among pre-school students. His Highness received a detailed explanation from the graduates about the nature, objectives, and results of the studies, as well as the recommendations they included.

The meeting was attended by: Dr. Muhadditha Al Hashimi, President of Sharjah Education Academy – Chair of Board of Trustees, Chairperson of Sharjah Private Education Authority; Dr. Khawla Al Mulla, Secretary-General of Supreme Council for Family Affairs; Dr. Jeanine Romano, Executive Director of Sharjah Education Academy; Dr. Najwa Al Hosani, Acting Dean of the College of Education at the United Arab Emirates University; Prof. Pauline Taylor-Guy, Director of the ACER Institute Australian Council for Ed. Research; Prof. Kirsti Lonka, Professor of Educational Psychology at University of Helsinki, Finland; Dr. Alexandra Allan, Head of the Graduate School of Ed. University of Exeter; Eng. Rashid Abushibs, Head of Information Technology at Sharjah Private Education Authority; Prof. Dragan Gasevic, Director, Centre for Learning Analytics at Monash University, Australia.