Dubai: As rains lashed Dubai and the roads turned soaking-wet overnight, it was time for some dry humour at Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA).
The social media team handling the school regulator’s Twitter account had the Twiterati talking with its witty repartee as questions poured in from parents and students wanting to know if schools would be closed.
It all started with one light-hearted Tweet last night on the possibility of a submarine being sent to pick up school students in the morning. To which, KHDA replied: “There are no submarines but the school bus should be right at your doorstep tomorrow morning, unless your school tells you otherwise! Have a great day!”
When a prompt reply — “If I drown I’m suing” — followed, KHDA said, “If you drown, you can’t sue. Checkmate.”
To an accusation that KHDA “doesn’t care” about whether the streets are safe to go to school and that “all they care about is money because they are broke”, the regulator’s social media team responded: “Exactly right. For every child who slips on the wet floor, we get one dirham.”
Replying to one unedited tweet, the team said, “Literally, if that’s how you write, then you need all the schooling you can get.”
The tweets were met with a mix of reactions — mostly praise and some criticism.
While some congratulated the “cool cat” behind the “hilarious” tweets and wished to make friends with him or her, some others asked KHDA if it was laughing and even sought a “more professional” response. But KHDA assured them, “We never laugh” and went on to provide a “professional” answer by saying, “So sorry, Please be informed that due to inclement weather, your formal education shall continue unperturbed.”
By noon, however, the tweets had disappeared. “We try to be funny sometimes, but that doesn’t mean we’re not serious about our students safety. We love you all, rain or shine!” the KHDA team had tweeted before signing off.
To a query by Gulf News on the Twitter storm, Amal Bel Hasa, CEO, Knowledge and Human Development Policies at KHDA, said, “Schools in Dubai are empowered to make weather-related closure decisions, keeping in view the interests of child safety. Any and all decisions about school closures will be informed to parents by the school.”
