The Ministry of Education (MoE) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Code.org to expand computer science education throughout the UAE.
Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of Education, attended the signing ceremony along with senior officials from both parties. Dr. Mohamed Ebrahim Almualla, Undersecretary for Academic Affairs at MoE, and Hadi Partovi, CEO and founder of Code.org, signed the MoU recently.
Dr. Al Falasi noted that eradicating digital illiteracy and expanding computer science education to all UAE citizens is one of the key goals of the ministry. He also mentioned that the ministry aims to include computer science in all educational stages, from kindergarten, to hone students’ computational thinking skills.
The ministry will also improve the digital capabilities of teachers to be effective contributors to building a knowledgeable society and to qualify today’s generation to meet current and future labour market requirements.
“It is critical to modernise primary and secondary education curriculum, to include computer science and AI, to prepare the next generation for the foundational skills of tomorrow,”
said Hadi Partovi, CEO and founder of Code.org.
“We look forward to partnering with UAE’s Ministry of Education to ensure all students in the country learn how to create technology and not just to use it.”
The collaboration will focus on four aspects of promoting computer science education in the country. These include raising awareness about the importance of computer science among students, teachers, parents, and various social groups; providing the relevant resources and curriculum with content in the Arabic language; training teachers in teaching computer science, in addition to allocating time for computer science during and after school hours.
News Source: Emirates News Agency
