Jameela Al Muheiri, Minister of State for Public Education, witnessed the legal oath-taking by 34 Child protection specialists in preparation for the exercise of their duties in the child protection unit launched by the Ministry of Education.
The process took place through video conference, yesterday, in the presence of Fawzia Gharib, Assistant Under-Secretary for the School Operations Sector; Dr. Amna Al Dahak Al Shamsi, Assistant Under-Secretary for the Welfare and Activities Sector; Lubna Al-Shamsi, Executive Director of the Sector for School Operations in Abu Dhabi, and Dr. Faisal Al-Bakri, Advisor to the Minister of Education.
The initiative is part of the efforts of the ministry to activate the executive regulations of the child protection law "Wadima" by creating an entity capable of creating a safe environment for children to enable them to develop their skills and creativity to preserve their rights and protect them from any form of abuse.
The Child Protection Unit aims to protect children from all forms of abuse, whether physical or psychological as well as any type of exploitation inside the school or at home. This occurs according to international standards in this field and by a group of specialists qualified to deal with children and address any of type of abuse that they may face to ensure a lifestyle for children free of any difficulties that might prevent them from growing their psychological, behavioural and educational development.
Al Muhairi said that the Child Protection Unit, established as one of the manifestations of the Child Protection Law and its permanent and executive regulations that resulted from it, enables the ministry to exercise its essential role of caring for and providing children with all elements of success and leadership at the academic, behavioural and psychological levels.
The ministry identified several tasks for a child protection specialist, including taking children away from danger and putting them in a safe place to ensure they are protected. Other tasks include conducting comprehensive social research studies that throw light on a child’s environment and submit a report to the administrative body he belongs to together with recommendations so that the necessary measures are taken.
These also include the rehabilitation of children physically and psychologically by specialists, conducting field visits to the child if necessary, checking on the child’s condition and resolving problems he could be exposed to. It also prevented children from being involved in any harmful activities or from going to places that threaten their physical, psychological and moral integrity, along with a number of other tasks.
The staff of the unit underwent training and rehabilitation programmes implemented by the ministry in cooperation with the UNICEF for a total of 25 training hours. They also participated in the investigation programme in cooperation with the Institute of Training and Judicial Studies in order to be able to perform their duties fully and effectively to achieve the goal of establishing the unit.
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