Opening nurseries for children is no child’s play in the UAE. The Ministry of Social Affairs, which overlooks the running of nurseries, has extremely stringent rules and regulations in place for granting approvals.
Until the end of October 2014:
462
Total number of nurseries in UAE
422
Private nurseries
40
government nurseries run by government departments for the benefit of their employees.
141
in Abu Dhabi
172
in Dubai
90
in Sharjah
16
in Ajman
29 in Ras Al Khaimah
9
in Fujairah
5
in Umm Al Quwain
- Information supplied by Ministry of Social Affairs.
In 2014, the ministry received
147
New proposals by investors for setting up nurseries
48 new licences issued to nurseries
115
pending approval
“For us the safety and security of child is paramount and unless we are convinced that a nursery fits the bill, we do not give approval. There are clearances from Civil Defence and municipality that are required, we look at the location, the blueprint of the nursery, make sure there is enough playing space for children, the number of qualified members in the staff. We make sure there is no rigid reading or writing but other methods of fun learning are incorporated. Nurseries need to have a fully equipped nursing room with a trained nurse and an arrangement for a doctor’s periodic visits and many other criteria that we make sure are fulfilled. Once the basics are complete, we go on regular and surprise inspections of nurseries to make sure all rules are being followed.”
Moza Salem Al Shoomi, Director of Child Department at the Ministry of Social Affairs.
Complaints regarding nurseries
12
The number of complaints from parents all over UAE.
“We are seriously looking into each one. If there is a complaint about unsafe environment, we take it very seriously. In our routine inspections that we conduct prior to the renewal of a nursery’s licence for the year, this year we came across 16 violations of safety in the environment and nearly 12 instances of complete neglect of the nurse’s room. Our inspectors assess the nature of the violation. If it is life-threatening, it has to be rectified immediately or else we give the nursery a deadline to rectify the violation. We leave nothing to chance and keep investors on their toes.”
Moza Salem Al Shoomi, director of Child Department at the Ministry of Social Affairs.
