DUBAI, Hussain bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Minister of Education, highlighted the necessity of establishing a national specialised action team comprising of representatives of several authorities, to study the required development of the education system for the post-coronavirus (COVID-19) period.
He also stressed the need to draft a joint research study between the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Prevention, with the support of universities, on how to utilise behavioural attitudes to change cultural stances on waste, recycling and environmental health.
Al Hammadi made this statement during his participation in the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), which was held from 17th to 19th May, in cooperation with UNESCO and the Federal Ministry of Education and Scientific Research in Germany.
The event, which was attended by 81 ministers of education and 2,500 specialists and experts, aimed to raise awareness about the new Education Framework for Sustainable Development 2030.
Al Hammadi participated in the event’s first plenary session: Creating the change we need in the time of planetary crisis – ESD for 2030.This plenary discussed the role of ESD in addressing major sustainability challenges in a time of planetary crisis and in light of UNESCO’s new ESD for 2030 Roadmap.
During the event, he stressed that the UAE embraced Sustainable Development Goal No 4.7 related to access to quality education by 2030, which aims to ensure that all learners can access the necessary knowledge and skills to support the process of sustainable development, through relevant education in sustainable living, human rights, gender equality, the culture of peace, non-violence and global citizenship and cultural diversity.
He added that this move will support the UAE’s initiatives related to the framework’s five priority action areas, which are updating policies, learning about environmental transformation, building the capacities of teachers, empowering and mobilising the youth, and adopting related procedures within communities and monitoring their progress.
He also pointed out that Sustainable Development Goal No 4 and the framework’s objectives were integrated into the UAE’s national education agenda, stressing the need for fair educational opportunities, since education is a basic human right.
Al Hammadi stressed that the 2021 Vision National Agenda aims to develop a quality education system, noting that there will be significant investments to encourage enrolment in pre-school education through the Baraem Al Mustaqbal programme, a pre-school initiative seeks to develop children’s personalities and enhance their cognitive abilities, as well as in primary education. The agenda also aims to make the UAE’s education system and its students among the best in the world, he added.
The National Committee on the Sustainable Development Goals was formed in January 2017, upon a decree issued by the UAE Cabinet, in collaboration with 17 ministries, non-governmental organisations and the private sector, he said in conclusion.
UNSECO said in light of the pressing environmental issues the world is facing, the Conference aimed to create momentum for the new framework ESD for 2030, which aims to build a more just and sustainable world through strengthening ESD to build education systems that support learners of all ages to be responsible and active contributors to more sustainable societies and a healthy planet. It also sought to enhance awareness on sustainable development challenges, in particular the climate crisis, loss of biodiversity and other environmental challenges, and the crucial role of education as a key enabler for the successful achievement of the SDGs
Source: Emirates News Agency