Dubai is home to the world’s first climate change certified school

Climate change is a global problem, described as the defining issue of our time by UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

Everyone has a role to play in the fight against climate change, including schools and universities who have been challenged to implement climate change education into their curricula. 

Proponents of this argue that as students live in a world affected by climate change, this makes it essential for them to be educated on the subject as it has a direct impact on our planet as well as their lives. 

While there are some issues arising from this, chiefly a lack of time and resources for teachers to find reliable materials on climate change, one school in Dubai appears to be leading the pack in the battle against climate change.

https://t.co/Vzze00nUlB
So proud and delighted to champion Climate Literacy through @eduCCateGlobal at our school @TKGStweet at a time when the world needs educated minds!

— Asha Alexander UN Accredited #ClimateChange Leader (@ashex16) September 2, 2019

Students at GEMS The Kindergarten Starters will now have the chance to be taught by certified climate change teachers. The school has become the first in the world to become fully UN climate change certified, reported the Gulf News. 

The school, which teaches an Indian curriculum, has 30 senior leaders and 300 teaching staff, led by principal Asha Alexander. All teachers are recognised as Climate Change Teachers following their completion of a course accredited by UN CC: Learn, in partnership with Harwood Education, notes the report.

“The teaching team includes ‘the world’s very first Arabic teachers to qualify’ under the programme, GEMS said in a media statement,” said Gulf News. 

Should more schools be pushed to become climate change certified? Source: Shutterstock

The course equips educators of all age groups and disciplines with the knowledge to deliver lessons on climate change. Students will learn a range of topics, including climate change science, gender and environment, children and climate change, cities and climate change and human health.

“By training our teachers to educate children about the impact of climate change, we will enable them to be responsible citizens of the future,” Alexander told Gulf News.

“Completing this course has given our teachers confidence in their own understanding of the issues and in their position as a UN accredited specialist Climate Change Teachers, to teach children effectively.”

Liked this? Then you’ll love…

How to implement climate change education in schools

Should climate change be taught in schools? Parents and teachers think so