Winter Vacation for Schools in Abu Dhabi | sirajlive.com

Abu Dhabi | Schools in the United Arab Emirates are closed for the winter holidays. Upon reopening, classes will be held for students on the Friday in the new school year. Schools in Abu Dhabi, along with other parts of the country, will have a four-and-a-half day working day next year. Instead of Friday and Saturday, half-days on Saturday, Sunday and Friday will become the new weekend holidays. The Education Regulatory Authority has directed schools to complete classes from January to Friday by 12 noon.

As for schools, some schools are planning to increase the number of school days to make up for the shortfall of five days to four and a half days. Sheila John, vice-principal of Sunrise School in Abu Dhabi, said schools will be open for half a day on Friday, with plans to increase the length of classes by five minutes and reduce the length of breaks.

Al-Khalij International School CEO Ghadeer Abu Shamat said that from Monday to Thursday school hours would be extended and two additional lessons would be provided. The new structure will lose only one hour of school hours compared to the current situation. This time will be available in other areas of the school that do not include course timing. This will not affect the speed of completion of the course. Campbell Douglas, principal of Al Khal James Wellington Academy, said lunch and break times would be arranged.

School closed at 3.15 pm. Musaffa Emirates Future School principal Saji Oommen said he would increase the working hours to four hours and find more than one duration.

Private sector employees waiting for clarity

Abu Dhabi | Private sector employees are also waiting for clarification in the wake of UAE’s announcement of change in working days of government offices. Private sector employees are expecting an extension of leave in government offices, similar to the government’s two-and-a-half-week leave. The government has extended the Friday public holiday to Sunday and made Friday a working day till noon. This resulted in four working days a week and two and a half days off per week.