Abu Dhabi students return to schools in Jan

ABU DHABI — abu dhabi private schools will start welcoming students in full strength starting january 2021, government authorities announced on tuesday.

on august 30, schools in the capital had reopened and started receiving students in phases along with the option of online learning for the first semester of the academic year. however, according to the new announcement, schools will have classrooms full of students from january, coinciding with the start of the second semester of the academic year.

On Tuesday, Abu Dhabi Government Media Office in a statement said the Abu Dhabi Emergency Crisis and Disasters Committee for Covid-19 Pandemic and the Department of Education and Knowledge (Adek) have agreed that private schools in the Capital will welcome all students back to classrooms from January.

“Adek will coordinate with private schools and support them in implementing the necessary preventive and precautionary measures,” the statement added.

Soon after the announcement, principals received fresh guidelines from Adek. The heads of educational institutes are now looking forward to the next virtual meeting with Adek to understand the new norms to be followed as schools return to the good old normal world.

Abu Dhabi Indian School principal Neeraj Bhargava said: “The school is missing its students. I think social interaction is missing. The normal life of a student is missing at home. We are more than ready to bring them back and take care of them.”

Previously, Bhargava had planned to bring the entire strength of their students back for face-to-face classes by deploying stringent precautionary measures. “We are all prepared and ready. Children are happy to come back. I am interacting with them.”

Sunrise English Private School principal Thakur Mulchandani said the school is ready to comply with the new guidelines. “We will have a full-fledged discussion with the Adek officials on how we have to incorporate it.”

Currently, teachers and administrative staff are tested for Covid once every two weeks.