School holidays in the UAE – a quick guide for pupils and parents
The academic year is clearly published in advance by the authorities
Dubai: The UAE has over a million students going to school every day and with the strong educational community in the UAE, it is crucial that parents, teachers and students receive the necessary communication in the clearest way possible.
The Ministry of Education announces the school year for both public and private sectors well in advance to ensure everyone who is part of the education sector is aware of the holidays, the total number of academic days as well as how long the annual breaks should be. Here is all you need to know about school holidays in the UAE.
The academic year in the UAE
The academic year in the UAE in 2020 will start on August 30 and end in July.
There are two shorts breaks and a long summer vacation. The Ministry of Education has divided the academic year into trimesters and each academic year consists of almost 180 school days. All public and private schools in the UAE must offer the minimum number of instruction days set out by the ministry.
In May 2018, Ministry of Education (MoE) announced the school calendar for the next three academic years until 2020-2021. The calendar is based on the Resolution No. 9 for the year 2018 by Ministerial Council for Development.
The calendar covers public and private schools that follow the ministry curriculum, as well as private schools that follow foreign curricula in the UAE.
Private schools following foreign curricula are allowed a flexibility margin of no more than one week from the dates approved by MoE. However, such schools must first acquire a permission from the relevant educational zone in their emirate for such amendment.
The holidays
All schools in the UAE are closed in July and August.
All public and private and schools enjoy two days weekend on Fridays and Saturdays.
All private schools must grant students and staff the official public holidays as declared by the UAE Government for federal entities and ministries.
Students and teachers will receive three breaks as follows:
• four-week winter break for students and two weeks for teachers
• two-week spring break for students and one week for teachers
• almost two-months break between academic years for students and six-week for teachers.
- Information courtesy government.ae