New UAE weekend: Sharjah schools reach out to parents to decide on best academic model

Sharjah's private schools are reaching out to parents to determine the most suitable model to make up for the loss of an academic day from 2022, when the new three-day weekend goes in to effect.

Along with government departments in Sharjah, schools will remain shut on Friday, Saturday and Sunday from the new year. This means pupils will lose out on one academic day per week. Schools were recently given the option to follow one of three models to make up for the loss.

Samer Sarhane, principal of Al Maarifa International Private School, said the school had attended a meeting with the Sharjah Private Education Authority (SPEA) to discuss ways to efficiently implement the three-day weekend in the new year.

"We are sending surveys to parents and discussing with them the options to determine the exact systems that need to be implemented by the next term," Sarhane said.

During the meeting with SPEA, Sarhane said the school management was briefed on the requirements of different curricula, each of which has specific school hours and certain academic credits.

"We are working to choose the option that would ensure the progress of education in a proper manner as per the new system of four working days a week," Sarhane said.

The schools, he noted, are making "great efforts" to involve the parents and implement the new decision.

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