When is half-term break for schools in the UAE?

Many schools in the UAE will close for a week next month so that pupils and families can have a half-term holiday, the first break of the year.

Schools will be closed from February 13 to 17, but the holiday will last for nine days as the weekend falls on February 11 and 12 and also 18 and 19. Classes will resume on Monday, February 20.

Which schools will have a half-term break?

British schools typically follow similar dates for the half-term break so families that have children attending different schools can have holidays at the same time.

All Taaleem schools and Hartland International School will follow the same dates.

Gems Education schools will start half-term on February 13 but not all schools in the group will follow the same dates and duration of holidays.

Most American curriculum schools will not have a half-term break next month — Gems Dubai American Academy and American School of Dubai, for example.

But some that follow the International Bacculerate curriculum will get a short holiday. For example, Emirates International School in the Meadows and Jumeirah in Dubai will be closed for two days — February 13 and 14.

Indian schools that begin their academic year in April will not have a half-term break next month but they will have more than two weeks off at the end of March.

Schools are allowed some flexibility in their calendar, as long as they complete a certain number of days in the year.

The February break is one of the busiest periods of the year for tourism, with tens of thousands of foreign visitors heading to the Emirates as European schools take a week-long holiday.

When is the next school holiday?

Pupils have their next holiday in the spring break which is due to start on March 27 until April 7. Classes will resume on April 10.

Ministry of Education curriculum schools will have a holiday from March 27 to April 14.

There are two half-term breaks during the year, the other being in October.

Some schools include both in their calendar, but the one in October is shorter while others have only one break in February.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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The specs: 2019 Mercedes-Benz C200 Coupe

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Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 204hp @ 5,800rpm
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