The UAE is to fly home all Emirati students based overseas within 48 hours.
The move is being led by the Ministry of Education and the National Authority for Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Management as part of precautionary measures after the coronavirus outbreak.
The operation is being conducted with the support of embassies in concerned countries, Abu Dhabui Media Office said on Twitter.
Countries across the globe are tightening travel restrictions to try to curb the spread of coronavirus.
Last week, The National revealed that Emiratis and expatriates studying abroad had begun to return home because of the outbreak.
The ministry and authority had earlier advised students abroad to immediately return to the UAE if their school campuses were shut or the country called for Emiratis to return.
Authorities said returning students should undergo distance learning online from the UAE “for a temporary period, or up until the end of the current semester or academic year”.
The authorities said Emirati students who returned were not to travel again “under any circumstances".
Thousands of international students who call the UAE home have already left courses mid-semester as campuses closed in the US, UK and Europe.
