The Abu Dhabi Emergency, Crisis and Disasters Committee has approved the return of students to in-person classes for the next academic year.
The decision follows consultations with parents, teachers, principals and school operators across Abu Dhabi in May and June this year.
More than 80 per cent of teachers and school staff, including maintenance and security teams, have been vaccinated.
Abu Dhabi is aiming to return pupils to the classroom while keeping everyone safe.
While we believe that remote learning is not a perfect substitute for physical learning, we must ensure that everyone is comfortable to return to in-school instruction as much as possible
The decision to return to in-person learning was made by health authorities, the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (Adek) and related government authorities.
"The pandemic has tested the resolve of teachers, parents, and school staff, our unsung heroes, who came together and have gone to incredible lengths to ensure that our children receive the best education possible during these challenging times," said Sara Musallam, chairwoman of Adek.
"While we believe that remote learning is not a perfect substitute for physical learning, we must ensure that everyone is comfortable to return to in-school instruction as much as possible."
The move was also informed by an independent survey of more than 117,000 parents representing more than 230,000 students across private, public and charter schools.
The Parents Survey on Schools Reopening included UAE citizens and residents.
It found 88 per cent of parents thought it would be better for students to return to classes in person.
Parents also said higher vaccination figures would make them more confident about the decision to return to in-person learning.
The Pfizer vaccine is currently available for children aged over 12, and a study into the efficacy of the Sinopharm among children as young as 3 was launched recently.
The survey also showed that parents were comfortable reducing physical distancing requirements, which would enable students to attend school on more days per week.
The committee stressed the importance of co-ordination between schools in the emirate and Adek to ensure schools were ready to receive students of all levels at the start of the academic year. The Abu Dhabi Emergency, Crisis and Disasters Committee will continue working with the schools community and health authorities and will update the protocols for reopening schools very soon.
School operational protocols related to Covid-19 will be published by 15 August.
The committee also approved providing full-time remote learning as an option to parents who request it, if offered by their child’s school.
Adek highlighted that the physical return to schools would be continuously monitored and evaluated to ensure ongoing safety, saying and that it relies on the co-operation of the entire school community in following precautionary measures to protect the health and safety of students, teachers and school staff.
Earlier this week, the UAE's new public school operator said pupils will complete the academic year on June 30 as planned.
Emirates Schools Establishment, the operator of government schools and kindergartens across the UAE, said last month that pupils in Years 4 to 12 at the UAE's state schools would sit online exams in June. Pupils in Years 1 to 3 will not sit exams and will be given marks based on assessment.
The ESE approved a plan for the remaining school days of the current academic year and will continue with distance learning after the examination period on June 17, state news agency Wam reported.
The schools operator said third-term exams marked the end of the curriculum but not the end of the current academic year.
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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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