The Department of Community Development - Abu Dhabi signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Department of Education and Knowledge regarding the licensing of social care professionals working in private educational institutions in Abu Dhabi.
The MoU aims to coordinate and integrate roles between the two departments regarding key joint programmes between the social and educational sectors. It will also coordinate and define roles related to the licensing of social care professionals working in private schools and educational institutions licensed by the Department of Education and Knowledge. The agreement also highlights cooperation and coordination in regulatory areas related to the social and educational sectors through the exchange of experiences and information in the field, the evolving requirements of the work and new developments.
Moreover, the memorandum stipulated the formation of a joint high-level committee, comprising senior management of both parties, tasked with following up on the implementation of all the provisions of the MoU. The committee would determine priorities, form work teams, follow up on their performance, discuss and approve their recommendations, and work to establish clear mechanisms to activate cooperation. It will also submit achievements reports on a quarterly basis to the senior management of both parties.
In this regard, HE Hamad Ali Al Dhaheri, Undersecretary of the DCD, said: “The Department of Community Development is keen to build fruitful and purposeful partnerships that contribute to enhancing the quality of life in society in general, and in this context comes the memorandum of understanding with the Department of Education and Knowledge. Its purpose is to regulate social care professionals in educational institutions and to expand the horizons of cooperation between the two departments.
“This will reflect positively on the practitioners of this profession, and thus provide the best services to those who deserve it. The memorandum also works to enhance cooperation between the two bodies by coordinating work on priority joint programmes between the social and educational sectors through exchanging experiences and information as required, and cooperation and coordination in the organisational fields of the social and educational sectors.”
He continued: “During the initial phase, 80 social care professionals to be employed by the Department of Education and Knowledge will be licensed, and the rest of the professionals working in the educational institutes will be licensed during the coming period. The memorandum of understanding will facilitate granting licenses to social care professionals working in the educational sector to ensure the provision of high-quality services through professionals with a high level of competence and qualifications, and within an organised and licensed framework in accordance with established procedures.”
HE Mubarak Hamad Al Muhairi ADEK Undersecretary added: “recognizing the organic relation between student well-being and academic success, our collaboration with the Department of Community Development will ensure the placement of highly competent and qualified professionals at Abu Dhabi private schools to champion student well-being. Approximately 410 social care professionals will benefit from this collaboration which facilitates our ongoing efforts to create a complementary supportive and nurturing environments at home and in school which will ultimately heighten our students’ academic performance.
“We remain committed to establishing meaningful partnerships with government entities in line with Abu Dhabi Government strategy to activate inter-governmental collaboration to enhance the quality of services provided to the community and building healthy societies, both mentally and physically.”