Some 325 Emirati and Arab teachers will be appointed to public schools across Abu Dhabi during the upcoming 2011/2012 academic year, the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec) has announced. \"While Adec is seeking to attract qualified staff in order to effectively contribute to the implementation of its 10-year Strategic Plan aiming at developing the educational system in the emirate of Abu Dhabi… this recruitment plan, which is for both teaching and administrative positions, will prioritise the appointment of UAE nationals,\" Mohammad Salem Al Daheri, Adec\'s Executive Director of the School Operations Sector, said. The number of required teachers for the upcoming school year was ascertained through school merger plans carried out by the council in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and the Western Region in addition to factors such as increasing teacher workload and numbers of female teachers in schools. \"Adec had announced vacancies… in May, [for positions] including kindergarten teachers, physical education, arts, music, special education and psychologists. [We received] a total of 8,000 applications submitted within the UAE [but] only 600 met Adec\'s requirements,\" he said. Article continues below \"From those, 276 teachers were selected based on interview results and school needs. Furthermore, 49 male and female physical education teachers were selected from across the region out of the total 127 candidates who were interviewed for those positions,\" Al Daheri added.