Will all Sharjah private school students return for face-to-face schooling in September?

Sharjah: Sharjah is considering the possibility of students returning to “normal” schooling in September for the coming academic year after the July-August summer break.

SPEA (Sharjah Private Education Authority) on Sunday tweeted: “We miss seeing you on campus! We are in the process of studying the possibility of students returning to normal life in schools”. It invited residents to share their thoughts on their preferences on SPEA’s social media channels.

It follows a ‘SPEA Return to School Survey’ sent to parents last week to understand their plans for sending their children to school in September and “to better understand the challenges and concerns parents may have experienced in relation to COVID-19”.

What do parents prefer?

A snap poll on June 2 on SPEA’s Twitter account showed that out of 44 votes, 59.1 per cent of parents preferred classroom learning for their children, 31.8 per cent favoured distance learning, and 9.1 per cent leant towards hybrid learning (mix of distance and classroom learning).

School inspections

Meanwhile, SPEA is conducting regular school inspection visits “to ensure the safety of our students and provide a healthy study environment. The Inspection Team and Curricula Section visited a number of Sharjah private schools to oversee the implementation of precautionary measures and ensure their commitment to implement approved curriculum plans”, the authority tweeted on June 2.