Ramadan: Will Your School Close on Fridays?

Individual schools in Dubai can choose whether to offer distance learning on Fridays during Ramadan, or continue with in-school learning. Schools should request parent feedback, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) said today.

In a series of tweets, Dubai's education regulator said schools have the option of offering distance learning only, or parallel with face-to-face learning on Fridays during Ramadan, depending on feedback from parent consultations.

Education institutions may decide on the most suitable place of work for all staff on Fridays during Ramadan, it said.

Schools are encouraged to offer teaching and learning options suitable for their whole school community, it added.

Individual schools have now started the process of consulting parents. 

Mark Ford, principal of the English College, wrote to parents, for example:

"In the spirit of togetherness and spending time with loved ones this Ramadan, the governments of the UAE and Dubai have issued a recommendation regarding remote working on Fridays during the holy month. There are two Fridays that occur in term time during The Holy Month of Ramadan this year.

We have been instructed by the KHDA to consult our community to determine if distance learning on Fridays is a suitable option for you. As always with such consultations, we will go with the majority.

Please choose one of the 2 options on the Google form here:
1. Distance learning for all students. For secondary school students (years 7 to 13) this would be live lessons delivered via Google Meet. For Primary, we will deliver live lessons for Year 3 - 6 via Google Meet. For our younger years FS1 - Year 2 we will provide learning materials on Class Dojo and Tapestry and offer some live group sessions throughout the day via Google Meet.

2. Normal in-school face to face learning for all students, as is currently the case.

Please complete the questionnaire by 12 noon on Monday 20th March so we have sufficient time to be able to plan ahead."

Similar letters have been, or are about to be dispatched across the emirate's schools.

WhichSchoolAdvisor.com will watch with interest which option parents choose to go for: While there was initial delight at the flexibility of distance learning, many parents told us they were extraordinarily relieved  when, 'post-Covid' schools returned to business as usual.