UAE | Education

Unsafe schools have been shut down

About 120 will be replaced with new ones within the next five years, says official

  • By Siham Al Najami, Staff Reporter
  • Published: 00:04 November 9, 2007
  • Gulf News

Dubai: Most public schools have stable infrastructures but some lack an effective educational environment, either having inadequate laboratories, scarce equipment or lacking ventilation in their class rooms, said a Ministry of Education official.

"Some schools are just a bunch of classes lined together without enough additional facilities," said Khalid Shehail, Director of Education Building Department at the Ministry of Education.

According to him, the worst-off schools in the country are mainly in Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah, where five to six schools have been built to replace the ones that were shut down for this academic year as they were unsafe to be used.

"Over the past two years, 50 schools across the country have been shut down because they are unsuitable to teach in," he said.

Approximately 120 public schools will be replaced with new ones within the next five years, he added.

As for sports facilities, all public schools built before the year 2000 do not have gyms as those were not included in construction plans. Building gyms, said Shehail, is very costly and beyond the department's budget.

Asked about the remaining schools, he said, "If we are supplied with a budget, we will build a gym for the rest. It costs Dh23million to build a gym."

Schools are responsible only for simple maintenance such as fixing the lighting; painting is the duty of the Ministry of Public Works as for the more complex issues such as restructuring it is within the Ministry of Education.

  • Rate this article
  • Average reader rating (0 votes) 2 Stars
Tools

Emailing an article to friend is a simple way to share a news item. Your friend will receive an email with your name and email address as well any personal message you choose to send.

The information you provide on this page will not be used to send unsolicited emails.

This service is not intended to encourage spam, and action may be taken against individuals who maliciously enter personal details of another individual.

Share this article

Related Articles

  1. Lack of facilities angers parent

    Lack of facilities angers parent

  2. Ajman schools 'lack proper air-conditioning'

    Ajman schools 'lack proper air-conditioning'

  3. Budgets 'way short of what is needed'

    Budgets 'way short of what is needed'

  4. Ministry announces reform plans

    Ministry announces reform plans

  5. Students packed into classes

    Students packed into classes

  6. Paving the path to excellence

    Paving the path to excellence

  7. Buses are old and over-used

    Buses are old and over-used

  8. Region must ensure quality of higher education, experts say

    Region must ensure quality of higher education, experts say

    'Region must ensure quality of higher education'

More from UAE Education

  1. Internet blamed for reading habit decline

  2. Parents want pupils dropped off inside schools

  3. Academics call for more cooperation

  4. Dubai children's book fair to be held in February

All articles in Education

More from UAE

Gulf News
Popular in UAE
Readers' pictures
Your pictures

Readers' pictures

The best reader pictures from around the UAE this week

Latest news
Community Reports

More from Community Reports

Weather

More from Weather