Shorter school hours in UAE proposed
School students in the UAE may have longer summer break and shorter class hours if a proposal by the FNC members is accepted by the Cabinet.
Majority of the Federal National Council members called upon the government to reconsider the education policy and allow students longer summer holidays in order to avoid the scorching heat.
The motion will now be submitted for Cabinet review.
Meanwhile, Shaikha Eisa, FNC member from Umm Al Quwain, urged for a review of performance assessment in schools, as well. She claimed that ‘automatic promotion’ of schoolchildren, wherein students are promoted regardless of passing exams, does not help students and added that an average of 60 pupils in each school across the country lack reading and writing skills.
Humaid Al Qutami, Minister of Education, assured the performance assessment system would be evaluated within two weeks and action will be taken accordingly.
With regards to shorter work days and hours, the minister said 180 school days in an academic year is the international average. School hours were increased by only 30-35 minutes to keep competitive schooling, he added.
He was reacting to a statement by Dr Mohammad bin Ham Al Ameri, FNC member from Abu Dhabi, who said school hours were increased to 180 days from the previous 145 days, which left students with less time to relax and develop family bonds.
However, not all schools are prepared to have shorter work hours as they fear the syllabus will remain incomplete.