Rising trust in COVID-19 measures, isolation fatigue at home are few reasons behind trend
Dubai: Some Dubai schools have this term seen a huge spike in students switch from distance learning to direct classes on campus.
School principals said growing confidence in COVID-19 safety measures at school, a desire to experience school life again and the arrival of vaccines for the coronavirus are some reasons why more students are coming to school.
Last term, before the winter break, 47 per cent of Dubai private school pupils were exclusively engaged in distance learning until November, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority had then said. The rest were coming to school for classes or doing a mix of both.
In January, after the winter break, GEMS Modern Academy saw the number of students attend class at school jump from around 550 to almost 1,600, said Nargish Khambatta, principal and CEO of the school, who is also vice-president for education at GEMS Education.
“We have also seen a lot of pressure from students on their parents, as they desperately want to join their friends back in the classroom. For these parents, we’ve walked them virtually through our safety protocols and so most are now happy for their children to return to school. Although still very early on, we are starting to see a positive impact of the availability of the vaccine,” Fulton said.
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