Knowledge Hub, a leading provider of learning solutions in the UAE and throughout the Middle East, and Renaissance, the creator of the myON digital reading platform, have announced the successful launch of an ongoing project with the UAE Ministry of Education to improve English reading standards for the 380,000 students in primary and secondary Emirati schools.

The agreement, which covers all UAE public schools, is the largest myON governmental implementation in history and comes after two successful pilot schemes were run in the country.

For the UAE Ministry of Education, this project drives the continued improvement of English literacy standards in the country. This is in line with the UAE Centennial 2071 and the Ministry’s strategic vision of innovative education.

His Excellency Hussain Al Hammadi, the Minister of Education, said: “Our children and young people need to be well-equipped to take opportunities, and to meet present and future challenges.”

Dr Sameera Alhosani, Curriculum Director for Humanities and Languages at the UAE Ministry of Education, added: “The introduction of the myON platform also aligns with the UAE’s mission towards achieving SDG4. Literacy is at the heart of learning, it is key to making our world more sustainable, peaceful and financially secure.”

The Ministry of Education endorse myON as a cross-curricular literacy tool to ensure students have access to rich reading content across all subjects, which will ultimately have a positive impact on reading standards across the country.

“Here at the Ministry of Education, we want to ensure literacy is integrated across the curriculum and myON is a creative solution that promotes such practices,” added Dr Sameera.

The myON platform gives students access to a personalised digital library of over 2,400 books that can be used across the curriculum, promoting cross-curricular literacy development. All myON books include natural voice audio narration to model reading fluency in English, as well as additional support for English language learners. myON is well suited to blended learning environments, allowing students to read both in school and at home. Students can access myON on laptops, tablets, and other devices, and offline reading is supported as well.

To encourage students to explore myON, and to support the UAE’s annual Month of Reading, Knowledge Hub and Renaissance are partnering with the Ministry on a special reading competition open to all public-school students. Running from 4th March to 15th April, the competition challenges students to read as many digital books on myON as they can. Students who read the most will be recognised with certificates of achievement. Top-performing schools will also be recognised, as will teachers whose students have the highest rates of participation.

Surekha Kembhavi, CEO of Knowledge Hub, said: “It’s an honor for Knowledge Hub to be recognised as a value-add partner to the Ministry of Education. For the past two decades Knowledge Hub has been helping schools in the Middle East region to implement 21st century skills. We have been a major contributor in transforming the traditional classroom environment into a digital one.  Events like these are really a testament to a great team and an important mission.  We support the education sector with a bold vision to change the status quo in the industry and drive social impact at scale. Our implementation of the myON digital library with the Ministry of Education comes as a major achievement as we believe the students and teachers will experience the strongest growth ever in digital literacy. Along with actionable reporting and tools that empower differentiation for all learners, Knowledge Hub, in collaboration with Renaissance is determined to give teachers content-specific professional development and provides leadership with insights about how all students are progressing.”

Chris Bauleke, CEO of Renaissance, said: “Renaissance is excited to be working with Knowledge Hub to support the UAE Ministry of Education in developing a strong reading culture in its public schools.  Renaissance has experience in successfully implementing whole-country projects.  By providing myON to students in every UAE primary and secondary school, we are one step closer to achieving our 35-year mission to accelerate learning for all.”