Coronavirus: Dubai parents can opt for distance learning when new school year begins

Parents in Dubai will not have to send their children back into school at the start of the new academic year as education chiefs confirmed a distance learning option will remain in place.

The announcement was made in a statement from the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) sent to school principals in the emirate.

But the private school regulator has set out plans for pupils to return to classrooms for the start of the new term on August 30, as long as safety measures are in place.

Some of the guidelines include mandatory use of face masks, thermal screening at entrances, physical distancing and protocols for suspected cases of coronavirus.

Schools will be allowed to set classroom sizes as long as they are able to keep seats placed 1.5 metres apart.

"While face-to-face learning remains the preferred education model, we understand that different parents have different views, especially in the first phases of reopening,” read the KHDA statement.

“As a temporary measure, schools can and should provide 100 per cent distance learning provision in the new academic year to parents who request it.

“This is intended to help ease parents and children into an eventual return to face-to-face learning.”

The move was welcomed by education groups in Dubai, who had recently submitted plans for how they would handle the reopening of classrooms.

“We understand that some parents prefer to keep their children at home for a little longer, and we will fully support these families with a 100 per cent distance learning programme,” said a representative for Gems Education.

“We will ensure their curriculum is in line with that of the children in school.”

The representative added that Gems schools would also be offering a 100 per cent onsite education model.

“Whatever option families choose, both will have the same learning commitment every day,” said the representative.

“We will ensure that every lesson is supporting the progress of our children, whether delivered face-to-face in the classroom or via our remote learning strategy.”

A spokesman for Taaleem Education also said its schools would provide both onsite and distance learning options to families.

“Our schools will offer distance learning to children who are unwell, unable to come into school or for whom their parents would prefer them to stay at home,” said the spokesman.

“This option may not be in same format as the one available in the previous term but will ensure continuity both in learning opportunities and with the school community, albeit at a distance.”

One in nine do not have enough to eat

Created in 1961, the World Food Programme is pledged to fight hunger worldwide as well as providing emergency food assistance in a crisis.

One of the organisation’s goals is the Zero Hunger Pledge, adopted by the international community in 2015 as one of the 17 Sustainable Goals for Sustainable Development, to end world hunger by 2030.

The WFP, a branch of the United Nations, is funded by voluntary donations from governments, businesses and private donations.

Almost two thirds of its operations currently take place in conflict zones, where it is calculated that people are more than three times likely to suffer from malnutrition than in peaceful countries.

It is currently estimated that one in nine people globally do not have enough to eat.

On any one day, the WFP estimates that it has 5,000 lorries, 20 ships and 70 aircraft on the move.

Outside emergencies, the WFP provides school meals to up to 25 million children in 63 countries, while working with communities to improve nutrition. Where possible, it buys supplies from developing countries to cut down transport cost and boost local economies.

Coronavirus: Dubai parents can opt for distance learning when new school year begins

Parents can choose between classroom and distance learning models, the emirate's private schools regulator has confirmed

One in nine do not have enough to eat