Parents and pupils confused over holiday in schools

Dubai: Many parents and pupils were confused by the decision for all private and public schools to resume their examinations on Sunday while the country was mourning the death of Shaikh Rashid Bin Ahmad Al Mualla.

Although the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) said that all schools would be closed unless they had scheduled examinations, many parents did not fully understand the decision issued by the Education Ministry on Friday.

The circular published in newspapers was not clear to many parents as they did not know whether the decision applied to private schools conducting exams or not.

A senior official at the Education Ministry told Gulf News schools should have resumed their classes regardless of whether they had examinations.

Laila Mohsin, a parent of two children attending a private school, said, "I didn't know whether my children have school today or not.

"I tried contacting the school but no one answered. When the bus didn't pick them up at the usual timing I just assumed it's a day off."

"The circular did not clearly state whether it applied only in the case of examinations," said one parent. "In such a case, I would have assumed it's a day off even if the children had exams. This is what we were accustomed to."

Schools closed

According to the Global Education Management Systems (GEMS) that manages over 20 schools in the country said all their schools were closed yesterday except one which had exams running during this period.

"We received a written correspondence from the KHDA that all private schools were to remain closed unless they have exams," said a spokesperson from GEMS.

This was confirmed by Taha Al Hamri, Acting Director of Administrative Services Unit at the KHDA saying, "We informed all schools that they should be closed on Sunday (yesteray) only unless they have a scheduled examination, as we don't want to disrupt their schedule as a number of factors will be affected such as transportation."

Most private schools were closed yesterday except those whose pupils are taking their first term finals. All public and private schools resume classes today.

The education minister visited a number of public schools yesterday in Ajman and Umm Al Quwain to ensure pupils were provided with the necessary equipment and facilities.

Was your child's school open on Sunday? Did they face any problems due to the confusion? Should there be more clarity for such holidays? Send us your experiences.

My son's school had a holiday on Sunday but I did not know about it until I talked to one of my friends whose child also attends the same school.She mentioned that she got the information through one of her friends. I wish the school management would either issue a newspaper notification or send the message through mobiles or some other means to avoid the confusion that could reign in such situations.
Lakshmi Vinay
Dubai,UAE
Posted: January 05, 2009, 12:26

The newspaper announcement was confusing.
Veena .R.Ballal
Dubai,UAE
Posted: January 05, 2009, 11:44

I got a text message from school Sunday morning informing me that the school is closed for the day.GEMS did an excellent job as there was confusion among parents.
Hashir
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: January 05, 2009, 11:41

It was really confusing since the newspapers announced that schools will re-open on Sunday regardless. A good suggestion is to publish such information on the website of concerned Ministries and the link should be included in the published news by newspapers.
Mohammad
Dubai,UAE
Posted: January 05, 2009, 11:38

Had no confusion or problems on sunday. It was cleared in the newspapers.
Imtiaz Ahmad
Al Ain,UAE
Posted: January 05, 2009, 10:50

My two daughters were ready to go school but the bus did not pick them up,I called the schools but no one answered.I was confused.
Farzana Junaid
Dubai,UAE
Posted: January 05, 2009, 10:06

From the announcement made, most of the families I knew were confused as things were not told clearly. My child studies in a private school in Sharjah. I checked the school website on Saturday night and they had clearly given that the school reopens on Sunday itself. Hence, I had no confusion on Sunday morning.
Beena Vinod
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: January 05, 2009, 09:48

Yes, there was a lot of confusion regarding the Holiday. My son took a chance, went to the bus stop and the bus did arrive and he attended school.
Mohandas
Dubai,UAE
Posted: January 05, 2009, 09:37

My daughter's school sent me a text message informing parents that the school would be closed on Sunday. It was very nice of them to provide such service.
Ying C.
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: January 05, 2009, 09:11

The news were not clear. My son was waiting for nearly 20 minutes at the school bus stop. Schools should have a recorded message in their main telephone line about the schools being open or closed. This can help parents even in late evenings to know the status of the school openings due to an unavoidable circumstances.
Nazeer
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: January 05, 2009, 08:58

I don't have children of my own but I know that my friends who have children learnt about the holidays from their friends.
Jurina
Dubai,UAE
Posted: January 05, 2009, 08:21

My daughter's school was closed yesterday. The school informed us on Saturday evening itself.
Sindhu
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: January 05, 2009, 08:08

Gulf News did not announce the holiday clearly. They mentioned that banks are going to remain open but that was it.
Alicejose
Abu Dhabi,UAE
Posted: January 05, 2009, 07:39

My kids went to school normally and they had no exams. The notice was not clear enough to specify and this created a lot of ambuiguity.
Junaid
Dubai,UAE
Posted: January 05, 2009, 07:24

The ministry of education should be very elaborate in explaining details to avoid misunderstandings.
Sharif
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: January 05, 2009, 07:01

I was informed via e-mail by my daughter's class teacher about the holiday. A lot of parents were informed by their bus drivers.I don't think there was any confusion or failure to inform parents about the holiday.
Shoba Subramanian
Sharjah,UAE
Posted: January 05, 2009, 06:48