Day: May 10, 2021

DUBAI, The UAE government announced ending all existing exemptions granted to federal government employees, including permission to work from home, due to emergency conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic, with effect from Sunday, 16th May, 2021.

The circular issued on Monday exempts female employees who have children enrolled in distance learning until the end of the current school year.

The Federal Authority for Government Human Resources (FAHR), in coordination with the General Secretariat of the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs and the Ministry of Health and Prevention, has issued the circular, regarding the official work in federal government organisations.

The Authority also announced that unvaccinated employees will be required to undergo mandatory PCR testing every week, at the employee’s own expense.

Unvaccinated government workers will be expected to pay for tests themselves unless they present a medical report exempting them from taking the vaccine owing to an illness or health condition.

The circular called on all federal government entities to adhere to all safety measures and follow the “The Guidelines for Office and Workplace Environment during Emergency Conditions” issued by the FAHR, and any instructions related to occupational health and safety, with an emphasis on social distancing.

Source: Emirates News Agency

ABU DHABI, More than 200 teachers from 194 schools (both public and private) across the UAE, completed the blended Moral Education National Capacity Building Programme (NCBP) between November 2019 and February 2021 despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

The capacity-building initiative was led by the Crown Prince Court of Abu Dhabi in collaboration with several partners including the Emirates Schools Establishment, Knowledge and Human Development Authority and Department of Education and Knowledge. The TELLAL Institute (UAE) and its United States partner (The education partners) were commissioned to plan, design, deliver, assess and evaluate the initiative. One of the successes of the initiative has been the support provided by all partners in their desire towards raising the status of Moral Education and its teaching across all schools.

An innovation introduced by TELLAL is the use of a digital summative “Performance Assessment Tool” (PAT) to provide reliable and valid assessments of teachers’ competency at scale. This consists of a 20-minute video capturing the teacher delivering an extract of a Moral Education lesson. This footage is supported by a 2000-word critical reflection specifically designed to assess their knowledge, understanding, and application of core teaching strategies in the classroom. There have been several positive results of this initiative for participants as well as the lead partners. Amongst these, those teachers who have completed the PAT are now exempt from one of the Teacher Licencing tests.

Commenting on the completion of the programme, Dr. Rabaa Al Sumaiti, Director-General of the Emirates Schools Establishment, said, “The NCBP provides critical skills for teachers through an interactive platform and contributes to the development of a qualified pool of moral education teachers. The programme develops teachers’ capabilities and empowers them to deliver the course to future generations, especially in light of the current global challenges.”

Mohamed Khalifa Al Nuaimi, Director of Education Affairs Office at the Crown Prince Court of Abu Dhabi, said, “We are extremely proud of the NCBP graduates’ performance, especially in light of the recent changes to the way we work, live and communicate.

“This programme came in response to feedback from teachers and we hope that we were able to develop local talent for teaching Moral Education and provide our teachers with the right skills to perform their critical roles. NCBP graduates will form the basis for a national pool of qualified teachers and will hopefully transfer this knowledge to their colleagues and communities.”

The PAT was conducted online in both Arabic and English. Each teacher participating in the assessment received a detailed report highlighting their strengths and areas for development in addition to an overall outcome. There is now a rich pool of local, talented teachers in both public and private sectors, upskilled to train, coach and build the capacity of their colleagues with the teaching and learning of the UAE Moral Education curriculum.

“The two significant takeaways from this initiative are the creation of an excellent group of virtual coaches who have modelled a unique way of supporting teachers as learners, and, secondly, the quality of provision has led to positive opportunities including exemption from part of the teacher licencing requirements. The NCBP is a model of what can work,” stated Dr Linda Rush, SVP TELLAL Institute.

“The support of the virtual coaches enhanced my learning experience and I feel more confident having studied the programme, in building the capacity of my colleagues in the Moral Education curriculum at Star International School Al Twar, and other schools across the UAE,” said Sean Lewis, SLT, Star International School, Al Twar, Dubai.

Ahmed Al Zaabi, a teacher at Falaj Hazaa School in Al Ain said, “My experience in the programme was wonderful and interesting, as I learnt new methods for teaching Moral Education, which greatly impacted the way I teach the subject, in terms of organising and planning the distance learning class. This also greatly influenced my students’ progress and excellence in the subject.”

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI, Dubai Customs announced the official working hours at its customs centres during the Eid Al Fitr holidays, to help individuals and companies clear their goods without any delay.

Work will continue around the clock during Eid Al Fitr holidays at Deira wharfage, Dubai Creek Customs Centre, Hamirya Port Customs Centre, Jebel Ali Inspection Centre, TECOM (main gate no.3), container terminal No. 2, and Air Customs Centres at Dubai Airports, Dubai Cargo Village, Dubai Airport Free Zone and Dubai flower centre.

Customer service centre at Port Rashid will be closed during the holidays, whereas the inspection centre will work around the clock. The same applies to Hatta Customs Centre and the Customs Declarations Department who will work 24/7.

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI, Emirates Transport (ET) provided more than 13,000 vehicles of various use to serve 775 entities from the government and private sectors in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, during the year 2020, it has been revealed.

Abdulla Alameri, Head of Operations for Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Dhafra, said that the efforts made by the company to provide integrated transport services that are competitive, safe and sustainable has positively reflected on meeting the aspirations of its customers.

He also stressed that the company is committed to applying the best safety and quality standards in accordance with the highest international and local practices and standards.

Alameri indicated that ET had also provided 6,139 drivers, alongside the 13,000 vehicles that include light and heavy vehicles, motorcycles and trucks, and more than 13,000 vehicles of various uses.

Alameri further stated that ET’s services in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Al Dhafra during the year 2020 included transport services for government and private schools, leasing of vehicles, logistical services, refrigerated transport, transport of petroleum products, airport taxi services and taxi vehicles, as well as limousine services for VIP clients.

Some of these clients include the Ministry of Education, ADNOC, government and private hospitals, ministries, local and federal authorities and others.

Alameri explained that during the year 2020, Emirates Transport provided 5,100 school buses and 5,346 drivers to transport 71,243 male and female students to and from 292 public and private schools in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, stressing that the company applies precautionary and preventive measures to all school transport buses.

Source: Emirates News Agency

DUBAI, Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI), the UAE Federal export credit company, and SACE, the Italian export credit company, have discussed collaboration in sustainable development projects, trade finance of SMEs, as well as the Halal sector, in line with their national economic strategies.

The meeting is within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the ECI and SACE, as part of the 6th UAE-Italy Joint Economic Committee event, held at the Ministry of Economic Development (MISE) in Rome in 2018, which laid down the framework to enhance business opportunities between the two countries.

During the meeting, held at the ECI’s branch in Dubai, the Italian delegation, which was led by Pierfrancesco Latini, CEO of SACE, and included Michal Ron, Chief International Officer of SACE, President of Berne Union, met with Massimo Falcioni, CEO of ECI, along with senior officials from both organisations.

“Italy and the UAE have a similar vision to put sustainable development at the core of their global agenda. The cooperation talks between the ECI and SACE in supporting strategic investments and green projects will be a major boost to the time-honoured trade relations of both countries. Through this alliance, we are determined to help Italian and UAE businesses access sustainable finance which will pave the way for highly responsible trade and investment opportunities between the two countries,” Latini said.

Falcioni stated, “We are honoured to further the cooperation that the ECI has started with SACE three years ago. By providing support to Emirati and Italian companies involved in sustainable development and green energy projects, we will increase the competitiveness of trade and export businesses from both countries, thereby strengthening further the excellent long-lasting relationship between the UAE and Italy.”

Source: Emirates News Agency