Dubai Announces Remote Learning For Private Schools In Ramadan 2023

The Dubai Government has recently directed all the private and public schools to offer remote learning to the students during the Holy month of Ramadan.

According to the directive, all the classes would be organized online, especially on Fridays for the students of all the classes. The notification comes ahead of the recent government rule to allow 70% of government employees to opt for work from home during Ramadan.

The aim behind such notification is to make it comfortable for the residents to balance their work amidst the holy festivities. 

The department of knowledge and human resources is contemplating granting access to remote learning resources to children in schools.

The Knowledge and Human Development Authority is all set to develop an exhaustive plan for Ramadan

In addition, the government is planning to extend such facilities for the students studying in colleges and universities as well. Students have expressed their gratitude towards the Government for allowing them this relaxation during Ramadan.

According to the president of the Student’s Union, such relaxations will enable them to manage their studies and their worship schedule simultaneously. 

The Knowledge and Human Development Authority has only issued broader guidelines. The department has left it to the schools, universities and colleges to make their customized schedules to suit the needs of their community.

In fact, these institutions would be entering into discussions with their members and stakeholders to develop a distance learning plan which meets the best interests of the community. The institutions even have the liberty to decide the suitability of distance learning for their community and then go ahead with the plan. 

Different institutions would be following different strategies in this respect. The kindergarten schools would remain closed on Friday and the timings of the online classes would be disclosed after discussing the same with their parents.

Secondary and Higher-Secondary schools are still yet to decide if they are willing to implement distance learning programmes on Friday. It will basically depend on the feedback they receive from the parents.

However, if they decide to organise an online learning program on Fridays, then a detailed plan will have to be enumerated. The school authorities would be required to digitalise their learning resources such as libraries, reading material, textbooks and magazines so that the children can access them from their homes. 

The school authorities will basically have two options. They can either provide distance learning to the children via their resources or can either go ahead with face-to-face learning.

The opinion of the parents, ease of implementation of distance learning programmes, availability of online material and well-being of the children would be playing an important role to decide the ultimate action.

The Government will grant sufficient financial and technical resources to the schools that opt for distance learning programmes. The teachers would also be trained to operate such online programmes and deliver their lectures to the children in an efficient way. However, those schools that opt for face-to-face learning, will not be eligible to receive funds from the Government. 

The Government has also issued guidelines with respect to the functioning of Universities and Colleges. The mode of operation shall be shifted to distant only in accordance with the prior engagements related to examination, seminars, viva-voce etc.

The student body and the parent community have to be consulted before taking any decision in this regard. It is imperative for all educational institutions to ensure that the quality of education is not at all compromised through distance learning programmes. Such directives will help to balance personal and professional commitments. 

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In addition to deciding the mode of operation and various technicalities of the programmes, educational institutions are also required to decide on the most suitable place for the teachers to undertake the implementation of these programmes.

Instead, they will have to arrange for a proper infrastructure so that the children can avail quality education while even sitting at home. A holistic approach has to have opted for the betterment of the entire student community that studies in schools, colleges and universities. The authorities will be required to prepare a proper timetable so as to schedule the requisite classes on the defined day. 

The holy month of Ramadan is all about to commence. This has been for the first time that the Government of Dubai is planning to provide the work from home and distance learning programmes to employees and children.

The basic reason behind this is to avoid absenteeism during fasting as it utterly compromises the quality of work. Such measures are being applauded by the residents to a great extent. The decision has been taken only after consulting with all the officials and the ministries involved in this sector.