Under the patronage of His Excellency the Minister of Education, Dr. Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sheikh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the UNESCO Regional Center for Quality and Excellence in Education; His Excellency the Acting Vice Minister of Education, Dr. Saad bin Saud Al Fahaid, inaugurated today, Thursday, the work of the regional workshop on the project of teacher preparation and qualification systems in the Arab world, organized by the UNESCO Regional Center for Quality and Excellence in Education, with the participation of many thinkers, experts, researchers, educational and academic decision-makers, and representatives of Ministries of Education and National Committees at the national, regional and international levels.
His Excellency Dr. Saad Al Fahaid delivered the opening speech of the Minister of Education, in which he stressed that the challenges facing education systems and their quality today do not represent only national challenges, but rather regional and global challenges, indicating that these challenges have become a common factor and more dangerous for the common future of the countries of the world, which places education in front of responsibilities that require renewal in its goals and methods, in conjunction with the realization of the educational policy makers, experts and teachers of the necessity to unify the efforts of education systems in the world.
His Excellency said: "This project reflects the common desire of all to improve the quality of education in the Arab world and achieve its distinction, contribute to achieving the goals of the United Nations for sustainable development, develop educational trends, policies and practices that ensure full participation of teachers in all educational processes, and share in the responsibilities of outputs of the education system, as well as enhancing their vital role in achieving the quality of educational systems.
The Minister of Education added: “The importance of the role of teachers and their full participation becomes clear in light of the Covid-19 pandemic and the major transformations in the future of education, as the teacher will have a qualitative double and essential role to meet these challenges, and his ability to inspire his students and stimulate their passion for learning and their acquisition and production of knowledge and the focus will be on looking at the teaching profession as a talent. There will be an increasing need to make the teaching profession more attractive to talented teachers.
Dr. Al-Sheikh expressed his aspiration that the participants in this regional workshop would come up with recommendations and results that can be used to enhance the aspect of teacher preparation and qualification in the Arab countries, in a manner that ensures raising their capabilities and skills to deal with all challenges efficiently and effectively, in order to accelerate the progress of the countries towards achieving the goals so that learners can develop the skills they need to enter the work environment and society. Teachers and educators in the learning environments for future generations will be expected to shift away from traditional “listening and responding” educational methods, and towards more interactive, agile, and focused methodologies on the student, stressing the importance of teachers being willing to innovate in how they transfer knowledge, interact with learners, and use technologies that support learning within all their physical and virtual environments.
In his speech , The Minister Dr. Al-Sheikh considered the Kingdom's initiatives in cooperation with (UNESCO) to establish the UNESCO Regional Center for Quality and Excellence in Education as a link between the organizations to ensure that education is given the quality and the desired excellence, as part of its continuous endeavor to contribute to achieving the sustainable development goals. He pointed out that the Kingdom has obtained the co-chair of the International Working Group for Teachers in partnership with the State of Norway, with the continuous and unlimited support of the wise leadership for education and raising the status of teachers, enhancing quality, and consolidating excellence in the educational process locally and regionally, reflecting the effective and influential presence of the Kingdom in the international organizations and committees in the education tracks, and its pioneering role in raising the quality of educational systems at all regional and international levels.
His Excellency indicated that the Kingdom's success in including education as a main theme in the discussions of the G20 Summit 2020 definitively indicates the Kingdom's interest in the vital role of education in the comprehensive development, and that education is a tool for creating the future of peoples and countries. He stressed his pride in the partnership and participation in this purposeful pioneering dialogue to support teachers and create all means to enhance the status of the teaching profession and enhance its attractiveness through preparing and qualifying teachers in the Arab world.
The Director-General of the UNESCO Regional Center for Quality and Excellence in Education, Dr. Abdul Rahman bin Ibrahim Al-Medaris, delivered a speech during the workshop in which he stressed that the quality of any educational system is measured by the quality of its teachers, and that despite the rapid and sudden changes that the world and education systems are witnessing in light of the pandemic, yet the position of the teacher and the profession of education will remain the core focus of education reform policies and quality assurance.
Dr. Al-Medaris stated that organizing this regional workshop is part of a series of studies carried out by the center to develop teacher preparation programs, based on its role in supporting and enhancing the quality and excellence of education in the Arab world, and to achieve the 2030 sustainable development goals.