The UAE has always been keen on looking after children, establishing, and promoting the inherited traditions in the community. It has built the legislative pillars that support the children's rights and bringing them up in the right manner to help them realize their rights and duties and participate effectively in the community. It has also promoted the community's awareness of the children's rights and protection and their importance and has enacted laws supporting their rights, especially Federal Law No. 3 of 2016, concerning the rights of the child "Wadeema."

            The Ministry of Education (MoE) has shouldered the responsibility for protecting and caring for children in the educational institutions and enhancing the elements of their success and leadership at the academic, behavioral, and psychological levels. This comes as part of a program that targets this category of students and addresses all forms of abuse against them. In this context, the Child Protection Unit has been established to boost the childcare and protection in the various public and private schools in the country and to provide an umbrella to look after them wherever they are.

The child protection system of the MoE is dealing with all types of abuse against the children in the educational institutions, whether psychological, physical, or sexual abuses or abuses caused by negligence. The Child Protection Unit is also working to enhance the awareness of the education community, families, and society of the importance of children protection and its impact on shaping their personality inside and outside the educational institutions.

The Child Protection Unit relies on a number of enablers to enhance child protection, such as legislative enablers, which include the Child Rights Law "Wadeema" and the executive regulations thereof, the child protection in educational institutions policy, and standards for child protection procedures in the Evaluation and Quality Standards Manual. The unit also depends on digital enablers that include the reporting and response system.

The MoE is cooperating with national and global bodies to promote child protection in a professional manner through a number of initiatives and workshops. The Child Protection Unit of the MoE, in this context, has formed the Child Protection Council in the School Environment, with the membership of 20 federal and local government agencies and public interest associations.

The council has achieved many accomplishments, such as issuing the Policy of the Child Protection Council in the School Environment, which has laid down the foundations for child protection in educational institutions, such as clarifying the roles and responsibilities of each category, and developing a guide on reporting procedures in educational institutions. The council has also promoted cooperation between the different bodies in the cases of child protection.

The Child Protection Unit of the MoE is committed to applying the highest standards in educational institutions to create a safe educational environment that is supportive of children.

Written by: Dr. Fatima Kalbat

Director of Counselling and Well-Being Department