The Ministry of Education (MoE) has announced on its Twitter feed that all public schools in the UAE will have their hours reduced by an hour for the academic year starting May 1.
The changes will apply to all stages in government schools across the UAE starting next Sunday.
For boys, school will start at 7.15am, and for primary schoolers will finish at 12.50pm instead of 1.45pm. Boys in secondary school will finish at 1.35pm instead of 2.35pm.
For girls it’s a little different, with school starting at 8am and ending for primary schoolers at 1.35pm instead of 2.30pm. For secondary schoolers, school will finish at 2.20pm instead of 3.20pm.
Read: Up To 20 Private Schools Opening In Dubai
There will be eight classes in total throughout the day for both genders, with the exception of Thursday where only seven classes will be held. Classes will last 40 minutes, except for the first period which will last an extra five minutes so the children can sing the national anthem.
Read: UAE Teachers Are Unhappy At Work
Thomas Edelman, founder of Road Safety UAE said on Dubai92 how the reduced school hours would help to even the spread of traffic throughout the day – with the school rush not only being moved back by an hour, but staggered for both boys and girls, ultimately reducing congestion.
The UAE’s focus on the importance of education has really come into play this month – demonstrated when Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai’s charity Dubai Cares stated plans more than Dhs11.4 million into two schools in Gaza, Palestine over the next two years.
Read: Dubai Private School Fees Are Going Up
Since its establishment, Dubai Cares has built and renovated over 2,100 classrooms and schools, provided more than 1,400 water wells and potable sources, constructed over 3,400 latrines in schools, provided nutritious food on a daily basis to more than 505,000 children in schools, trained over 42,000 teachers, distributed more than 2.2 million books and kept more than 2.75 million children worm-free worldwide.
Image: Getty
