UAE launches $272m 'smart learning' initiative

Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on Tuesday launched a AED1bn ($272m) initiative to improve technology in the UAE's schools. Sheikh Mohammed, also prime minister and vice president of the UAE, was speaking at the launch of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Initiative for Smart Learning. The programme, which will cover all the schools across the country, will be implemented over a period of five years, state news agency WAM reported. The drive aims to create a new learning environment in schools, through introducing "smart classes" in all schools, providing every pupil with a tablet PC and high speed 4G networks. The initiative also envisages specialised training programmes for teachers and new scientific support curricula, WAM said. The project will be implemented through cooperation between the Ministry of Education and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority as well as direct follow-up by the Prime Minister's office. At the launch, Sheikh Mohammed stressed that the basic development of education was a "national necessity for sustainable development". He said the government would continue to invest in "the human factor and its development".