Unified holidays for public, pvt schools

DUBAI — In order to coordinate the school working days, summer and winter holidays as well as semesters followed by institutions of higher education during next academic year, the Ministry of Education has issued an ordinance unifying the academic calendar of the public and private schools for 2012-2013.

The decision taken jointly with the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, will also unify the school calendar with the semesters and holidays of universities and colleges across the country.

The first school vacation will start from December 16, 2012, until January 3, 2013, and the classes will resume on January 6. The holidays at the end of the second semester will begin on March 31, 2013, and the schools will reopen on April 14, 2013. The summer vacation will start on July 7, 2013.

According to the decision issued by Minister of Education Humaid Mohammed Obaid Al Qattami, the administrative, teaching and technical staff at all levels will begin work on September 2, 2012.

Classes will start on Sunday, September 9 for all grades from KG to higher secondary in all public and private schools across the country, irrespective of the curricula they follow.

Al Qatami said that coordination between the two ministries emphasised the importance of standardisation of the academic calendar in order to achieve both educational and family stability and comfort. —