Sharjah: A high attendance of 85 per cent was registered in Sharjah and Ajman schools on the first day of the new school year.
Pupils are back to school after a two-month summer holiday, registering high attendance that has exceeded expectations by educational instiutions.
Pupils usually skip the first day of the school and low attendance is the main challenge faced by schools at the beginning of the academic year.
More than 168,654 pupils started their 2014-2015 academic year on Sunday in 220 schools operating under the Ministry of Education across Sharjah, and 42,000 pupils in public and private schools in Ajman. This is in addition to students in private schools offering non-UAE curriculum.
Admission and financial sections as well as textbook delivery divisions at some private schools have witnessed huge crowds.
Sharjah and Ajman Educational Zones, in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, have made all the necessary preparations to receive pupils, with the completion of school maintenance works and providing schools with all stheir needs as well as ensuring school expansions and the installation of air-conditioners.
Marwan Al Sawaleh, Undersecretary at the Ministry of Education, along with Ali Hassan, Director of Ajman Educational Zone, visited a number of boys’ and girls’ schools in Ajman.
Ali Hassan said that the first day was smooth and everything went well as he directly contacted school administrations to ensure the attendance of pupils.
In Sharjah, Nora Al Merri, Director of Sharjah Educational Zone, and heads of departments and sections made an inspection tour of several schools in the emirate to ensure pupils’ discipline in classrooms.
Meanwhile, the ministry is conducting a comprehensive survey to determine the number of students in classrooms and the possibility of integrating different classes according to each school year, and thus finding out the actual number of school teachers needed, noting that the survey will also show if there is a surplus of teachers for certain subjects or shortages in others.
Wafa Al Mulla, principal of Ghubaiba Secondary School, said pupils registered a very high attendance on the first day of school, compared with previous years.
Samira Shuhail, Director of Al Qaryan Primary and Secondary School for Girls, said that the school saw the attendance of 740 schoolgirls out of 850, registering an 80 per cent attendance. She confirmed that textbooks have already been distributed and there is no shortage of teachers.
Nawal Al Ramahi is a trainee at Gulf News
