Parents praise Adek’s remote learning move

FULL TUITION FEE IRRESPECTIVE OF IN-CLASS OR DISTANCE LEARNING

Despite the teachers’ best intentions, it is impossible to monitor multiple children in classrooms, washrooms and school buses.”

Anas Kadiyarakam | Father of a 6-year-old girl

Parents across Abu Dhabi have welcomed the decision to allow students to continue distance learning in the upcoming academic year.

They applauded the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (Adek) for changing its guidelines in response to parental concerns.

“The decision to continue distance learning over the next few months is positive. I will definitely keep my children, enrolled in grades 2 and 3, home for the time being,” Adel Al Hammadi, 40, director at a semi-government company, said.

His children are enrolled in a British curriculum school.

Adek initially mandated in July that all children must return to some form of in-class learning from the start of the upcoming term onwards. Then, last week, the regulator updated the guidelines to allow parents with children enrolled in private schools to opt for distance learning during the term that is set to begin on August 30.

“Responding to a strong call from parents who prefer continuing distance learning for their children, Adek has approved the option of fulltime distance learning for the upcoming term,” Adek announced on Monday.

‘Very relieved’

“We were very relieved to hear about this. Our six-yearold daughter, Hairine, is not yet old enough to socially distance herself. So it is safest for her to continue learning at home,” said Anas Kadiyarakam, 35, regional human resources manager at a health care provider, and his wife, Kadeeja Jishni.

The couple said they had stayed vigilant throughout the outbreak, avoiding going outside initially, and only visiting

open areas during the recent Eid Al Adha break. “Despite the teachers’ best intentions, it is impossible to monitor multiple children in the classrooms, the washrooms and the buses,” Kadiyarakam said.

Even parents with older children are happy with the move. “My son is set to join grade 10 in a British curriculum school, and I don’t feel comfortable sending him in. So this is very welcome,” said an Emirati businessman and father of three.

Alternatives

Given the recent update, parents will now be able to choose between in-class learning and distance learning. But they will still have to pay the full tuition fee, regardless of how they choose to continue their children’s education.

Adek has also clarified that homeschooling without enrolment at an Abu Dhabi school is not recognised, and children who are educated in this manner may run the risk of having to repeat the school year once they decide to rejoin the formal education system.