Year 3 pupils are pictured during physical education at the Brighton College Abu Dhabi. Brighton College is to expand into Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National
Year 3 pupils are pictured during physical education at the Brighton College Abu Dhabi. Brighton College is to expand into Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National
Year 3 pupils are pictured during physical education at the Brighton College Abu Dhabi. Brighton College is to expand into Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National
Year 3 pupils are pictured during physical education at the Brighton College Abu Dhabi. Brighton College is to expand into Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National


The UAE goes back to school with confidence


  • English
  • Arabic

August 27, 2021

Most pupils in the UAE are set to return to school on Sunday. Typically, the last weekend of the summer holiday is a busy time for parents and children alike. In preparation, thousands flock to malls and stock up on school supplies, from backpacks to calculators.

Besides the usual anxieties and preparation, this term carries for some the niggling worry of their children's safety. Given what the Covid-19 pandemic has put everyone through during the past year across the world, such concerns are not unfounded. But parents on edge need only to look at the facts, and the strides made to ensure safety for children and staff across the hundreds of schools in the UAE.

For one, this week the number of daily Covid-19 in the country cases dropped to 983 – the lowest so far this year. New infections have been on a steady decline even as testing still continues at pace.

For another, while masks and social distancing remain indispensable, in Abu Dhabi children aged 16 and above, as well as all school staff and teachers, must be vaccinated in order to return to school. In Dubai – whose private schools are regulated by a separate education body, the Knowledge and Human Development Authority – authorities have announced safety rules for the new academic year. Schools in Dubai are expected to gradually end distance learning in the first week of October.

New infections have been on a steady decline

To be sure, even as many schools have already held in-person classes for months now, the trend across the country is clear: everyone is headed back to school, some in a more staggered manner than others. Pupils, who have missed out on the crucial social bonding and all-round development aspect of being in school, will get to be among their friends, classmates and teachers in person once again. This goes a long way to fostering their well-being, and its importance cannot be overstated.

All factors considered, education and health authorities have comprehensive measures in place to ensure that faculties and pupils remain safe. The number of pupils going back to school is projected to be higher than those of last term, when many had to open, then close, when they detected cases. The swift responses by schools and authorities helped to contain the spread of Covid-19.

As The National has reported, in Abu Dhabi pupils will have to be tested every 14 days in the first month of term. These protocols apply also to teachers and administrative staff, even if they are vaccinated. The tests will activate the green pass on Al Hosn app, which residents of the emirate are required to download in order to enter schools and other public places. Across the rest of the country, inoculation campaigns have been highly successful; in Ajman, more than 11,000 primary school pupils received the jab over the past fortnight.

In all schools, teaching and administrative staff are a responsible presence and are there to ensure that no pupil's health or safety is compromised.

It is important to remember that everyone is working towards maintaining the same goal of a safe school environment and a normal life for the country’s children. Parents' concerns are understandable. But everyone must maintain confidence that everything is being done to make sure that schools are safe and that children can go back to their vibrant young lives with the right measures.

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Chef Nobu's advice for eating sushi

“One mistake people always make is adding extra wasabi. There is no need for this, because it should already be there between the rice and the fish.
“When eating nigiri, you must dip the fish – not the rice – in soy sauce, otherwise the rice will collapse. Also, don’t use too much soy sauce or it will make you thirsty. For sushi rolls, dip a little of the rice-covered roll lightly in soy sauce and eat in one bite.
“Chopsticks are acceptable, but really, I recommend using your fingers for sushi. Do use chopsticks for sashimi, though.
“The ginger should be eaten separately as a palette cleanser and used to clear the mouth when switching between different pieces of fish.”

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Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5

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Rating: 1/5

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Director: S Shankar

Producer: Lyca Productions; presented by Dharma Films

Cast: Rajnikanth, Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson, Sudhanshu Pandey

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

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Everton 1 Stoke City 0
Everton (Rooney 45 1')
Man of the Match Phil Jagielka (Everton)

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Mary Beard

Profile Books and London Review of Books 

Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

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When is the best time to start saving in a pension? The answer is simple – at the earliest possible moment. The first pound, euro, dollar or dirham you invest is the most valuable, as it has so much longer to grow in value. If you start in your twenties, it could be invested for 40 years or more, which means you have decades for compound interest to work its magic.

“You get growth upon growth upon growth, followed by more growth. The earlier you start the process, the more it will all roll up,” says Chris Davies, chartered financial planner at The Fry Group in Dubai.

This table shows how much you would have in your pension at age 65, depending on when you start and how much you pay in (it assumes your investments grow 7 per cent a year after charges and you have no other savings).

Age

$250 a month

$500 a month

$1,000 a month

25

$640,829

$1,281,657

$2,563,315

35

$303,219

$606,439

$1,212,877

45

$131,596

$263,191

$526,382

55

$44,351

$88,702

$177,403

 

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Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger

Rating: 3/5

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The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.

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  • Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
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Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn

Rating: 3.5/5

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2021 World Triathlon Championship Series

May 15: Yokohama, Japan
June 5: Leeds, UK
June 24: Montreal, Canada
July 10: Hamburg, Germany
Aug 17-22: Edmonton, Canada (World Triathlon Championship Final)
Nov 5-6 : Abu Dhabi, UAE
Date TBC: Chengdu, China

Updated: August 27, 2021, 2:00 AM