Dubai-based GEMS Education today (August 29) officially welcomed more than 1,800 new teachers from across the globe to its network of schools during GEMS Awareness Day, an annual event to introduce new teaching staff to the organisation.

GEMS Education founder and chairman Sunny Varkey said: “Welcome to GEMS Education. I would like to assure you that you have made an incredibly positive decision to join the world’s greatest education company. Built on the foundations of the greatest values, the greatest teachers and the greatest school leaders in the world.

“On a world scale, GEMS Education continually aims to raise the standards of education and the teaching profession. By joining the GEMS family, your passion for this noble profession will transform you into a master-practitioner, and that, coupled with strong partnerships with parents, will enable the children you teach to succeed.”

Speaking at the event, Dino Varkey, chief executive officer, GEMS Education, said: “GEMS Education has been educating children for 60 years. We raise the profile of the profession through the Global Teacher Prize and engage heads of state and politicians around the world to give education the importance it deserves, to ensure it has its place in national agendas, rather than existing as a political afterthought.

“Our greatest focus will always be our students, and the positive impact they can make on the world. This impact will only be seen by parents and others decades later. However, it is the work you do in the classroom every day that will have the most profound influence on our collective future. Create moments that matter for the students in your care, to enable hope and possibility for a better world. I know that all 1,800 of you share our passion and purpose to deliver a quality education to every child.”

The event’s wide range of focal areas included moral education, one of the top priorities of the UAE government, in addition to Arabic and Islamic Studies, with breakout sessions offering new teachers unique insights into each. These sessions included ‘Critical Thinking in the Arabic Classroom’ and ‘Optimizing Input and Output in Arabic Language Learning’. Sessions also covered the UAE’s culture and history, with one third of all Awareness Day discussions having a local or regional point of reference.

Asif Khan, the new Head of Arabic and Islamic Studies at GEMS Winchester School – Fujairah, said: “I am keen to explore opportunities for cross-curricular learning between the sciences, Arabic and Islamic Studies, and appreciate the need for a well-integrated, inclusive curriculum. I was drawn to GEMS Education’s culture of sharing good practice between its schools and investing in its staffs’ CPD, as well as GEMS Education’s core values and approach to education.”

The event included presentations and workshops, with thematic insights into the mission of GEMS Education as well as the wider narratives of the UAE Vision 2021 National Agenda. The various sessions also covered values-led education, child safeguarding, wellness, inclusion, disruption in technology, sustainability and finance. – TradeArabia News Service