Some UAE Schools Shift October Break Forward By One Week

In the first week of back-to-school, several schools in the UAE have sent out emails to students and parents announcing that this year's half-term break will run from October 12 to October 16. This is one week earlier than the break in previous years.

Notices seen by Khaleej Times state that the change is to be in line with the unified calendar of the Ministry of Education (MoE) and Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA). The KHDA regulates private schools in Dubai and has adopted the MoE calendar.

Some schools like Dubai British School, Safa British School and Arab Unity School have sent notices out to their parents informing them about this change.“The October half-term break will now take place from Monday, October 12 to Friday October 16, rather than from Monday, October 19 to Friday, October 23,” the notices read.

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Schools acknowledged that some parents may have made plans based on the previous dates and apologized for the inconvenience.

One parent, who spoke to Khaleej Times on condition of anonymity, said that the shift in dates had left at least some parents unhappy.“For students in British syllabus schools doing their AS and A levels, this disrupts their schedule,” he said.

“My daughter, who is in Year 13, will be writing her exams during that week and that will go ahead as per schedule. So, she will not get a break. Soon after that she will prepare for her mock exams. I feel like the previous dates gave them a much-needed break in between all the studies.”

Another parent said that she and her family had booked a holiday according to the previous dates.“Our tickets and tour package was booked according to the previously communicated date,” she said.“We were shocked when the email came. We will have to see whether it will be possible to get refunds on our booking.”

Meanwhile, several parents with students in Sharjah schools said that they had not received any communication about half-term break dates.“I don't think we will have a half-term break,” said Saliha, a parent with three children in a British syllabus school in Sharjah.“Since we have a four-day school week, a half-term break might further disrupt children's studies and cause teachers to rush to finish portions.”

It was in February this year that MoE announced the academic calendar for public and private schools for the next three years. In it, the spring break was announced to begin on October 12. However, local education authorities were given the freedom to allow private schools under their jurisdiction to divide the break between October and February, to align with their operational needs.

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