On World Teachers’ Day, discover what the strategy will include and when more details will be announced.
Dubai: Dubai is developing a dedicated well-being strategy for educators as part of efforts to attract and retain top teaching talent, the emirate’s education regulator has announced. The development comes as educators around the world mark World Teachers’ Day today, October 5.
The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) is working on the strategy as part of a broader effort to position Dubai as a leading destination for highly skilled teachers, Aisha Miran, director-general of KHDA, said at the Media Majlis last week.
Although the event was not connected to World Teachers’ Day, the proposed ‘educator well-being strategy’ is significant for Dubai’s private education sector, where more than 27,000 teachers educate over 400,000 students.
Attracting and retaining the best teachers
Miran said KHDA aims to make Dubai a destination of choice for leading educators. The strategy will focus on the entire journey of a teacher — from attracting and recruiting talent to supporting educators and encouraging them to stay in Dubai.
“We are working on our educator well-being strategy, and that is an important aspect for us. We want to be the place that attracts the best talent and the best teachers,” she said.
Three key areas will form the foundation of the strategy: continuing professional development (CPD), recognition and exposure, and work-life balance.
KHDA is still developing the strategy, with Miran saying she hopes more details will be announced next year.
Addressing mid-semester teacher exits
Miran also addressed concerns about teachers leaving their jobs in the middle of a semester and the impact such departures can have on students.
When a teacher leaves midway through a term, she explained, students can be left without the specialist support they need. While a substitute teacher may step in, they may not always have expertise in the subject being taught.
KHDA has been addressing the issue from a policy perspective and is also collecting data to better understand the scale and impact of mid-semester teacher departures, she said.
Part of a wider education roadmap
The educator well-being strategy forms part of Dubai’s Education 33 (E33) Strategy, which outlines the emirate’s vision for developing its education ecosystem by 2033.
Miran said E33 is designed to support learners across every stage of their educational journey, from nursery through to higher education, while also recognising the important role of parents in the wider education ecosystem.
Since the launch of E33 two years ago, KHDA has rolled out more than 20 transformative initiatives and introduced 28 policies and frameworks. Teacher well-being is among the strategy’s key priorities, alongside learner-centred education, inclusion, future skills, digital transformation and artificial intelligence.
Miran said the initiatives are already making an impact, with more than 5,000 parents benefiting from workshops focused on the strategy and crisis management.
Helping schools improve
KHDA is also working closely with teachers in schools whose performance needs improvement, Miran said.
Now in its third year, the programme has supported 10 schools and reached 16,000 students, including 13,000 Emirati pupils.
As part of the initiative, KHDA is seeking to position inspectors and regulators as partners who support schools in improving their performance. Miran said a separate team of inspectors was assigned specifically to the programme.
“Dubai’s Education 33 Strategy is the compass that guides our work and sets out where we want Dubai’s education ecosystem to be by 2033. Two years since its adoption, we have made important progress, but our ambition extends further. We want its impact to reach every student, family, teacher and educational institution in Dubai,” she added.
AI support for parents
KHDA has also launched an AI-powered service, ‘Girnas Educational Advisor’, to help families navigate Dubai’s private education system.
The service provides automated information on areas such as school fees, performance, curricula and admissions, making it easier for parents to compare and understand their options.
Families can also access one-on-one consultations with dedicated education advisors, who can help parents identify schools that best match their needs and preferences.
