UAE | Education
UAE schools opt for extended working hours
Private schools will opt for extended school hours or work on Saturdays to make up for the loss of academic days.
- By Anjana Sankar, Senior Reporter
- Published: 22:48 July 2, 2009
- Image Credit: Francois Nel/Gulf News
- Students at the Wellington International School break up for the summer holidays. The school year will start later this year due to Ramadan.
Dubai: Private schools will opt for extended school hours or work on Saturdays to make up for the loss of academic days, following the Ministry of Education's decision to delay the reopening of all schools until after the Eid holidays.
Ramadan is expected to begin on August 21 or 22 this year with Eid probably falling on September 20. As per the new decision, schools will reopen on September 23. Administrative and teaching staff must report on September 13.
Minister of Education Humaid Mohammad Obaid Al Qutami told Gulf News on Wednesday that the decision to postpone the 2009-10 school year for public and private schools, including those that teach a non-ministry curriculum "was taken following extensive consultations with relevant bodies".
But most private schools that spoke to Gulf News said that they would be left without any option but to seek the ministry's permission to work on Saturdays or extend working hours to cover the loss.
Ashok Kumar, CEO of Indian High School, Dubai, said the school would have to work Saturdays.
"We have around 180 academic days in a year, which is less than the Central Board of Secondary Education schools in India get. Teachers will not be able to finish the portions if the reopening is delayed," said Kumar.
He added that the school would wait for instructions from the Knowledge and Human Development Authority before they rescheduled their plans for September.
But some principals thought the decision had some merit. Nikat Khan, Principal of the Oxford School, said in a way it was good to delay the reopening until after Eid because otherwise many students may have remained absent during Ramadan.
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