Pupils across the UAE will ease back into classrooms under a phased schedule that keeps school days short for the opening stretch of the new academic year, according to arrangements outlined by the Ministry of Education.
The reduced timetable runs across four days, beginning Monday, August 31, and continuing through Thursday, September 3. Full-day attendance for every student takes effect Friday, September 4.
Timings during the shortened period differ from one stage to the next. Kindergarten children are due in from 8:15am to 11:30am. First-cycle pupils fall under one of two windows, either 7:15am to 11:15am or 8:15am to 12:15pm, depending on what each school selects.
For the second and third cycles, the schedule splits by gender. Male students attend from 7:15am to 12:15pm, and female students from 8:15am to 1:15pm.
Which days a given group of students reports during that Monday-to-Thursday span is left to each individual school, decided according to its own readiness and operational plan. The framework allows classes to filter back in stages, and any class not slated to attend on a particular day stays home that day.
Schools, kindergartens, and educational complexes have been given room to adjust their return plans and add attendance days as their circumstances allow. Any such changes come with a requirement to align with transport providers so that bus timings do not clash.
