(MENAFN- Khaleej Times)

Most UAE schools across the UAE will close for a month-long winter break this year, but some will not have the full four weeks off. Many Indian and Pakistani-curriculum schools - which follow an April–March academic cycle - will continue regular classes into the second week of December, in line with scheduling requirements tied to home-country exams.

The Ministry of Education's unified calendar for 2025–2026 sets standardised dates for term starts, term ends, and holidays for all public and private schools nationwide. Under the new system, the first term of the 2025–26 academic year ends with a four-week winter break from December 8, 2025, to January 4, 2026, with classes resuming on January 5, 2026.

Why Asian-curriculum schools differ

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Asian curriculum schools - particularly Indian schools - operate under a different academic structure, starting their school year in April rather than September. Because of this, Indian-curriculum schools will not adopt the new winter-break pattern until the unified calendar becomes applicable to them in April 2026. This means Indian-curriculum families will follow their usual schedule this year: a later, shorter winter break starting December 15, with classes resuming January 5, 2026.

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Nargish Khambatta, Principal and CEO of GEMS Modern Academy and EVP – Education at GEMS Education, said this timeline is already built into the current school year.“This change had been for the international schools starting in September. Indian curriculum schools start in April and have always ended the second term in the second week of December and has already been planned for at the start of the year with the appropriate pacing as per the regulatory guidelines of 182 instructional days. The new unified calendar will only apply to Indian curriculum schools from April 2026,” she told Khaleej Times.

Absences not expected to rise

While most UAE schools are preparing for an early December shutdown, Indian schools say they do not anticipate unusually high absenteeism during the additional instructional week.

"There are the usual low number of requests for leave of absence for attending weddings etc which we grant on a case-by-case basis. Parents have become cognizant of the attendance policy and are mindful of asking for leave without a valid reason,” Khambatta said.

According to Saimah Sidra, a teacher at an Indian syllabus school, they expect some families to travel during the extra week.“To reduce such instances, we inform parents about upcoming topics a month in advance, so they know the importance of the lessons,” she said.“We also upload practice worksheets and make sure key lessons are easy to catch up on if a child is absent.”

Hina Javed, a teacher at one of the largest Indian schools in Dubai, said that past attendance patterns will be reviewed to provide gentle reminders to families with frequent absences.

How the week will be used

For Indian schools, early December plays an important academic role, especially for students preparing for board examinations.

“This is a crucial time for the board classes for Indian curriculum schools, and the time is very well utilized for preparation and support,” said Khambatta.“The primary and middle school students enjoy coming to schools and teachers make an extra effort to make this time special for them. Since the unified calendar does not really apply to Indian schools it is not going to affect us. With the winter break round the corner, students look forward to a much-needed pause as it is an opportunity to recharge before stepping into the last academic stretch.”

Hina added that educators were working hard to ensure that the last week added“meaningful value” than just function as an overflow period.“We have our periodic assessments planned,” she said.“Parents have been informed well in advance regarding these assessments as we do not want students to miss them. We also have Targeted Revision planned for core subjects.”

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