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Two-year experience must for expat teachers in Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi - Specialised subjects such as music and arts require particular qualifications and Adec pointed out that it already terminated the least qualified teachers last year. Over the summer, Adec employed 800 new teachers, bringing the total number of teachers for the 251 public schools to 12,000.

The Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec) said on Wednesday that it hired "more than enough" teachers for this academic year, but teachers planning to apply for a future position in public schools in the emirate are required to have certain qualifications.

Specialised subjects such as music and arts require particular qualifications and Adec pointed out that it already terminated the least qualified teachers last year. Over the summer, Adec employed 800 new teachers, bringing the total number of teachers for the 251 public schools to 12,000.

"For this academic year, we employed 168 Emirati teachers, who now form the majority of our teachers - 52 percent - besides 95 Arab expat teachers and 600 Western expat teachers," said Khaled Al Ebri, division manager of School Operations Personal Services at Adec.

"For Emirati teachers, we do not require teaching experience, but expat teachers need to have minimum two years teaching experience," he added.

Another must is a teaching licence. No matter how good or experienced a teacher is, Adec would not consider anyone from a country that does not provide one.

Regardless of nationality, all teachers also need a higher education degree from an internationally recognised university with a minimum GPA of 2.5. Better yet is a Masters or PhD degree, as teachers with these being considered first for employment.

English language skills are also very important. Non-native English speakers require an IELTS certification (International English Language test System) with a score of at least 6.5 for teaching Physical Education, Math and Science or a minimum 5.5 for teaching IT. Adec has a committee dedicated to teacher recruitment, taking between one and two months to select the candidates. Once hired, their contracts are for either two or three years, renewable annually.

If a teacher wants to quit before the contract ends, there is no penalty involved, but Adec will meet with the teacher to try and solve any issue that might have led to their decision.

silvia@khaleejtimes.com