Abu Dhabi: Public schools in the capital are to reopen on September 15, the Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec) has announced, when the new school model will be introduced.
Private schools are left to their own discretion, although most are likely to commence at around the same time, a spokeswoman told Gulf News.
Gradual approach
The new school model, which was devised by Adec, will be implemented in the first cycle — from kindergarten to grade 3 — in all public schools for the 2010-2011 academic year.
Extensive preparations — such as comprehensive training programmes — were undertaken ahead of the implementation of the model, which focuses on fostering student individuality and an interactive educational environment, including the hiring of over 1,200 new teachers and educators from the UK, US and other countries.
The new educators will also perform administrative duties as, for example, advisers and assistant principals.
"These teachers have been hand-picked from their respective countries by committee members of Adec. They are to be included within the new school model system for the first cycle of education," the spokeswoman added.
Adec is also integrating 20 new government schools and opening 11 new school buildings in the emirate, which will result in a decrease in the number of public schools from 305 to 296, reflecting the effective utilisation of resources.
Redistribution
Older school buildings, depending on their condition, will either be used by different public schools or made available to house students from private schools, similar to the situation earlier this year, when buildings were used to benefit students who had attended villa schools, the spokeswoman said.
The new model will eventually encompass all grades, ideally expanding on a yearly basis.
"It is better to implement new projects at a gradual basis, to better monitor how things progress, and to see whether modifications or improvements need to be made, so as to enhance the system," the spokeswoman added.
