Abu Dhabi Tackles School Trip Fees

ADEC has announced it now expects schools to stop requesting additional fees for school trips. Instead, schools will now cover the fees from their own budgets.

Emirates 24/7 reported via, Emarat Al Youm, “the Council demanded that school administrations to allocate the cost of excursions from the school budget and the trips should be related to 'education outcomes.'

Interestingly the paper also reports that the Council expects the schools to submit relevant details of the 'alternative educational experiences' that the students not participating on the trip would be expected to carry out.

Furthermore, ADEC expects, "the teacher must attach the plan of the trip and its correlation to the learning outcomes as well as risk assessment....the teacher should also submit the cost summary of the trip and oversight arrangements, including how to make up for lost lessons in school; escorts; consent of the parents; and special arrangements made for students with special needs, when necessary," announced Emirates 24/7.

ADEC has requested any teachers wishing to organise school trips should submit a written request to the council at least one week prior to the intended departure with the Council. However, the report gave no further details on how the council would process the request or the criteria upon which it would make any decisions to veto potential trips.