Dubai Expat Parents Worried About School Reopening Dates

expat parents are growing concerned about the lack of information on September's school year starting dates.

At this time of year, it’s usual for expat parents to be advised by their children’s schools as to their September re-opening dates following the long Spring Break holidays. Some parents are finding it difficult to decide on travel plans for overseas holidays, whilst others are concerned that all may not be well with the schools themselves. For the majority of private schools in the emirate and across the UAE, July 5 is the last day of term and, by now, the ministry and KHDA websites have normally posted the school opening dates in September. One exception applies to Dubai’s Indian schools schedule, in which the opening date is recorded as September 2, whilst the end of the school year is set at July 1.

Yesterday, a major Dubai expat newspaper was informed by several schools in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah that they’d not yet received their official September opening dates from the emirate’s ministry. Earlier, a large UAE private school conglomerate had advised parents it hadn’t yet received the start date for its non-Indian schools. A source within the education ministry’s education sector believes the date will be given out soon, but expat families are at a loss to know what course to take as regards booking flights for their holidays overseas.

Generally, certain schools open early in September, with others choosing September 10, dependent on their curriculums. Schools are allowed to fix or change their dates as long as school days total around 180 in every academic year. One British expat father whose child attends a Dubai IB curriculum, school told reporters he’s not best pleased as, should he wait until official dates are published, he’ll be forced to pay far more for his family’s holiday due to Spring Break's being the peak season for flights and accommodation.