His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has approved a resolution regarding the Qualification Framework for Emirates (QFEmirates) as the first-of-its-kind national criteria to classify academic qualifications in the three education sectors: general education, higher education, and technical, vocational and professional education and training.
The QFEmirates was launched in consistence with the UAE Vision 2021 for building an economy that is based on knowledge and innovation, and run by highly educated and qualified citizens.
The Framework will classify 10 levels, starting from level 1 up to doctoral degree.
The QFEmirates is a facilitative tool that aims to promote the concept of lifelong learning as the means to enable individuals to plan and access learning in order to fulfill their potential and to contribute to the future growth and prosperity of the UAE.
The National Qualifications Authority (NQA) is tasked with the responsibility of publicising the system among federal and local education departments and training and qualifications regulators and providers in order to be able to start a pilot phase after publishing the resolution in the official gazette. The NQA is also mandated to issue regulations and introduce any mechanisms necessary for implementing the system within five years.