Dubai's Knowledge and Human Development Authority launched the Teacher and Educational Leadership Standards (TELS) and Licensing pilot project in September 2016 with 227 teachers.

In June, the KHDA held a graduation ceremony for teachers who completed the licensing process. While 173 teachers passed the examinations, some are missing English proficiency tests or require additional qualifications, and can expect to receive their licences once they complete all the steps. All in all, 106 teachers from 15 schools received their licences at a graduation ceremony

Education Journal Middle East spoke KHDA chief of qualifications and awards Dr Naji Al Mehdi to learn more about the pilot programme, the lessons learned, and how the regulator aims to licence 20,000 teachers in the emirate by 2021.