As hundreds of thousands of pupils across the UAE returned back to school on Sunday to start the 2017-2018 academic year, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, today toured Hamdan Bin Zayed School in Abu Dhabi, reiterating the central importance the UAE is attaching to education investments.

A new curriculum has been introduced across all public schools in the country which will see more emphasis on science and English subjects.

Founded in 2006, it is the only government school in UAE where the Chinese language is taught, with 18 students out of the its total 782 capacity coming from China.

His Highness Sheikh Mohamed toured the school, which is one of the academies where the new curricula has been introduced, inspected the classes, labs and other facilities, and was briefed by the school director on the measures taken ahead in the run-up to the new academic year to ensure students' wellbeing.

A stop at the school's Traffic Village was one of the main highlights of H.H. Sheikh Mohamed's tour where the students are educated on concepts like traffic safety, prevention of accidents and respect of traffic rules.

Sheikh Mohamed also toured the art and ecological section where he took a firsthand experience of the way students receive edutainment knowledge of a significant impact on their society.

The tour also saw His Highness Sheikh Mohamed interacting with a large number of students, highlighting to them the paramount importance of education and urging them to double their study efforts in order to make their dreams come true.

His Highness Sheikh Mohamed spoke to the school's management and teaching staff, underlining the necessity of developing fruitful partnerships with the outer world to benefit from best international standards in areas of science and innovation in a way that would reflect positively on the students' skills.

Sheikh Mohamed also underscored the importance of building up students' awareness about their cultural heritage and national values and identity, calling for engaging parents in the education process to play a complementary role in creating successful generations.