Schools in UAE to open on Aug. 30 after summer break

Our Correspondent

DUBAI

The new academic year in the UAE will start on August 30, while administrative and teaching staff will have to report for work on August 23. This was announced by HE Hussain bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi, Minister of Education in the UAE government.

“Education remains a top priority and national objective, and therefore our leadership has directed to apply the distance education system under the current circumstances so that our students won’t lose track and miss one single day from their academic year,” said the minister in a statement on June 7.

He attributed the sustainability of the UAE education system and the success of the remote learning process to the forward-thinking policy of the UAE leaders and the commitment of students and their parents.

It is not clear yet if it will be a mix of distance learning and physical classroom activities.

While August 30 is the beginning of a new academic year for schools following the ministry and other foreign curricula, schools following the Indian curricula begin the new school year in April. All schools get a long summer break in July and August. The Ministry of Education had earlier announced that schools would close on July 2 for students and July 9 for teachers and other staff.

Exam dates announced

The MoE has announced that final exams for grade 12 students across public and private schools that follow the ministry’s curriculum will be held from June 21 to 29. The exams would be held via distance-learning modes and systems.

According to the ministry, each exam is of 60 minutes duration, while each question has a set time limit that will appear as a timer next to the question. Students must ensure that they answer each question within the set timeframe, before moving on to the next question.

Students will not be able to answer a question or amend their answer to a said question once the allotted time is complete, MoE explained. They cannot return to a previous question once they have moved on to the next question.

Students in the general and advanced tracks will undertake the exams between 10:30 and 11:30 a.m. while students in academic and home study will take their exams between 16:30 and 17:30 p.m.

Agency inputs