Compassionate teachers for special needs

“I started as a volunteer but after they saw how passionate I am with the special needs kids, they hired me as an assistant teacher. Now I have been teaching art for four years,” said the Emirati mother of two who lives in Al Shawamekh.

The second batch of the Teacher Assistants programme offered by the Emirates Foundation for Youth and Development.

According to Al Khetr, she did not have any formal training as an art teacher, she learned through interaction and what she deemed the kids require.

“For the blind, I make them touch and feel specific things in the art while for the children with autism, I make them distinguish colours and use them to colour a car, for example,” she explained.

Although satisfied with her job, Al Khetr said she “does not have a certificate” — the reason why she joined the 52 other women for the second batch of the Teacher Assistants programme offered by the Emirates Foundation for Youth and Development in coordination with the British University in Dubai (BUiD).

The pilot programme in 2011 already graduated 23 students.

The initiative is part of the foundation’s ‘Kayani’ (My Being) programme aimed at empowering Emirati women from across the UAE to contribute to the society by caring for special needs children at public schools.

The one-year course is divided into two components – six months of theoretical and another six months of practical training at government schools across the country. At the theoretical stage, the students learn the key principles of working as assistant teachers while the second stage prepares them to incorporate what they learned into actual practice.

The lecture is very intensive with a whole day spent on lessons three times a week. The students residing in Dubai, Sharjah and Ajman attend classes at BUiD while lecturers meet students at a designated place in other emirates. Graduates receive a certificate of completion in the end.

“We are working now with the newly established National Qualifications Authority (NQA) on which scale of employment (the students) will be placed,” Dr Sabha Al Shamsi, director of social inclusion at the foundation, told Khaleej Times on Monday during a ceremony to celebrate the graduation of the students from the first part of the programme. These students will begin their practical training next month.

She added that the foundation was also working with the Abu Dhabi Education Council and the Ministry of Education to hire the students after completing the course.

“I hope that this certificate will be accredited by the education authorities to become a diploma, as this will be a milestone for me to further my education in university specialising on special needs,” hoped Al Khetr.

Zainab Al Hashemi, 19, graduated from high school two years ago. Due to financial constraints, she could not continue her studies and instead opted to work in the private sector.

Passionate about working with kids, the student from Dubai enrolled into the programme in the hopes that “this programme will find me a better job in school”.

“I am very proud in my role because I am serving my society, people and country who gave me everything. This is my way of giving back,” she stated.

Al Shamsi underscored the importance of making the Emirati women feel that they are making a difference, to “become a contributor in the society” instead of being just a dependent. -olivia@khaleejtimes.com