All UAE schools, colleges to close for 4 weeks from Sunday as coronavirus precautionary measure

Dubai 

The Ministry of Education has announced a four-week closure of all public and private schools and higher education institutions across the UAE, starting Sunday.

The decision is part of the preventive and precautionary measures aimed at maintaining safety of students and in line with the efforts made to contain the spread of coronavirus, COVID-19.

In a statement, the ministry said the decision comes as a proactive step that is consistent with the developments in the field of mitigating impacts of crises and natural disaster and out of keenness to provide highest standards of safety within the school and higher education communities.

According to the decision, the spring vacation, initially scheduled to start on March 29 and end on April 12, will instead start next Sunday, the UAE news agency WAM reported.

A pilot programme for distance education will be implemented during the last weeks of the vacation to ensure education continuity and to avoid any impact on school days.

The ministry said the decision takes into consideration the interests of students and ensures that the distance education initiative is properly applied.

The decision grants the private schools and higher education institutions the freedom to apply the procedures they see necessary to guarantee education continuity.

The ministry will utilise the vacation to conduct massive operations to sterilise school and university facilities and buses, in accordance with the international standards for health, safety and hygiene, according to WAM.