New UAE weekend: Authority denies reports about new school timings

With UAE schools transitioning into a two-and-a-half-day weekend from January 1, 2022, rumours have been going around about the new academic timings. However, a decision in this regard is yet to be taken, the Emirates Schools Establishment has said.

The purported school schedules circulating online are fake, the establishment added. It said it is working with “partners to implement the new workweek” and that the schedule would be announced soon.

Emirates Schools Establishment is an independent federal entity responsible of enhancing the efficiency of the UAE’s public education sector.

As it made the announcement of adopting the new weekend, the UAE government had said that schools and universities across the UAE will follow the new four-and-a-half-day workweek. Friday half-day, Saturday and Sunday will form the new weekend.

The Ministry of Education will announce the new school timings, the government had said then.

Education regulators have directed schools to ensure that classes get over by 12pm on Fridays.

For schools, this means that the academic week has been shortened by half a day. Some schools had earlier told Khaleej Times that they would increase school timings during the week to make up for this.

Others said they would “adjust” lunch and break times.

Meanwhile, schools in Sharjah will adopt the Emirate’s three-day weekend of Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

• Dubai