UAE academic year will start on Aug. 30 as per the calendar already approved by the Ministerial Development Council, while the administrative and teaching staff will begin working on Aug. 23, minister of education said in a statement on Monday. "Education remains a top priority and national objective, and therefore our leadership has directed to apply the distance education system under the current circumstances so that our students won't lose track and miss one single day from their academic year," Hussain Bin Ibrahim Al Hammadi said. He attributed the sustainability of the UAE education system and the success of the remote learning process to the forward-thinking policy of the UAE leaders and the commitment of students and their parents, according to the official news agency WAM. Schools in the country closed in early March under measures aimed at slowing the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed over 275 people in the UAE. After a several week break for Easter, education authorities implemented a distance learning system in which students make use of online resources to study from home. Globally, other countries are weighing up whether to reopen schools as lockdowns ease. Saudi Arabia's Minister of Education Dr. Hamad Bin Mohammed Al Al-Sheikh had earlier said that the Kingdom was considering distance learning as a strategic choice beyond coronavirus. "Electronic learning after the coronavirus crisis will not be the same as it was before especially with the accelerated global trend toward e-learning and its technologies as a future option, and not just an alternative during exceptional circumstances," Al Al-Sheikh was quoted as saying by the Saudi Press Agency in April. — Agencies
