Inspirational messages from leaders on eve of new school year

Teachers are a national treasure. We are proud of their pivotal role in building minds and refining spirits SHEIKH MOHAMMED BIN ZAYED Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces

The country’s leaders have issued inspirational messages in welcoming pupils and staff back to school today. Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, described the new academic year as “full of hope and ambition”.

“Our students, who are the UAE’s present and future, have our trust and support,” Sheikh Mohammed said. “Our students’ knowledge and perseverance ensure the UAE’s continued growth and development. I wish you all best of luck this year and beyond.

“Acquire knowledge, turn reading into a habit and always strive for excellence and make it your motto in life.”

The Ministry of Education operates 642 schools across the country – 384 in Dubai and the Northern Emirates and 258 in Abu Dhabi. These schools are ready to welcome back 22,282 teachers, including 11,163 in Dubai and the Northern Emirates and 11,119 in Abu Dhabi.

“Teachers are a national treasure,” said Sheikh Mohammed. “They carry a noble message. We are proud of their pivotal role in building minds and refining spirits.”

But educating children is also a community effort, he said.

“We are entrusted with our children, whether as families, schools or society as a whole,” Sheikh Mohammed said. “We need to work together to make their lives better.”

The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi called the unified public school curriculum, the Emirati School Model, as an “integral part of our strategy for the future”.

“With the beginning of the school year, a new national educational vision begins,” said Sheikh Mohammed.

Sheikha Fatima, Mother of the Nation and President of the Supreme Council for Motherhood and Childhood, also congratulated pupils and their guardians on the start of the new school year.

She called on pupils to draw inspiration from the Founding Father, Sheikh Zayed, as they embarked on a new academic journey.

Sheikha Fatima also praised the consolidation of the national public school curriculum and welcomed the decision made by the Ministry of Education and the Abu Dhabi Education Council, calling it “an extraordinary beginning” for the new academic year.

She said the continued evaluation and development of education systems in schools were characterised by high levels of achievement and progress that were consistent with the wise leadership’s firm belief that the nation’s youth were the most important investment, and had the right to innovative education systems that matched the UAE’s ambitions.

Sheikha Fatima called on teachers and educators to be role models for their pupils and to make every effort to keep pace with new approaches and reforms made to ensure the development of the nation’s educational systems that sought to benefit children and youths.

“Teachers have a great responsibility to educate and influence our youth,” she said. “Educators’ efforts to expand and encourage our youth’s education and help develop their moral and altruistic behaviour are always appreciated.”