Several schools in the UAE will continue online schooling next week until they get the necessary permits from the educational authorities. According to communication sent out to parents on Thursday and Friday, all schools must pass an inspection process to be approved to open.
In one such email seen by Khaleej Times, a Dubai school’s management wrote, “We await a time and date to be allocated to our school for our reopening inspection. This may take a few days as all private schools in Dubai have to undergo the same process before approval to re-open is granted.”
Another one noted that in-person learning will resume only when they receive the necessary permits from the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) and that “a comprehensive reopening plan” will be shared with parents once the approvals were in place.
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One institute informed parents that they had already undergone site inspections by KHDA and are awaiting formal approval to be able to start in-person learning. “If we have not received confirmation by late Saturday evening, the whole school will remain on distant education on Monday,” it wrote. Another school group took to social media to say that their Dubai branch will begin face-to-face learning on April 22, while their Sharjah branch will have students on campus starting April 20.
In Abu Dhabi as well, schools must meet the regulatory requirements of the Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK). One school in the emirate wrote to its parents that the institute will reopen for in-person learning “only once the required ADEK approval has been received.”
Another Abu Dhabi school informed its parents that only students currently out of the country or are registered for bus transportation will be given the option to continue distance learning. All others must return to school for in-person learning as per ADEK guidelines.
Meanwhile, many parents of students attending public schools received news from their schools that in-person classes will begin on Monday, April 20. Mother of three, Umm Ahmed, said that she received the email on Thursday morning. “It informed us that in-person classes will begin on Monday and online schooling will be discontinued,” she said.
Several parents across the country received surveys from schools asking them their preferences about sending their children back. It was earlier communicated by the Ministry of Education that school bus services will not be available and this arrangement will be reviewed on a weekly basis.
Source: Khaleej Times