Ahmed Mukhtar Al-Bulooshi recalls early challenges at Dubai Police felicitation
DUBAI The Dubai Police General headquarters has honoured the first blind teacher in the UAE, Ahmed Mukhtar Al-Bulooshi, for his efforts in helping blind students by incorporating Braille in the curriculum and providing Braille training to teachers.
The felicitation was done to mark the Teachers Day.
Not only did Al-Bulooshi help blind students, he also constantly communicated with the families of blind students, guiding them with advice on how to deal with their visually impaired children and help them with their studies.
Lt Col Mohammad Khalifa bin Subeih, director of Community Relations Department at Dubai Police, said, “Al-Bulooshi shouldered the responsibility of teaching blind students for over 36 years, even at a time when necessary educational tools were not available.”
Al-Bulooshi, who was grateful for the honour, recalled the challenges he encountered early in his career when he first joined the Dubai Rehabilitation Centre for Disabled at the Ministry of Community Development in 1982. “Back then, books printed in Braille were not available, there were no specialists in the field as well. I, personally printed the curricula in Braille, so all blind students could get a chance to be part of the educational system and learn how to read and write in the language.” he said.
“I’ve given training sessions for many teachers to qualify them to deliver lessons through Brielle language and help blind students to study and do their homework. These students graduated later from universities and got jobs at government departments and institutions,” the proud teacher added
Al-Bulooshi said, “ At first, families refused to enrol their blind children in schools as they were unaware of the new tools for teaching people of special needs. However, gradually, we have gained their trust. Today, people of determination study side by side with other students at public schools under the Ministry of Education”.
Al-Bulooshi continues to organise workshops and deliver lectures at schools to train teachers on how to deal with blind students within and beyond the educational field. He also provides techniques and tools to assist teachers in the teaching process in all subjects, such as math and science, as well as training students to use specialised electronic devices and voice accessible applications.
