• Given the rapid vaccination program, the Abu Dhabi Emergency, Crisis and Disasters Committee also recommended Monday the easing of restrictions for nurseries

Arab News

DUBAI: UAE public schools will fully reopen in September with a remote option, the country’s Emirates Schools Establishment (ESE) announced.

A special protocol for returning to school will be developed in coordination with the Ministry of Education, the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority, ESE said, aimed at ensuring the safety of students and faculty.

The announcement comes as more than 72 percent of the staff at public schools have been inoculated against the coronavirus, paving the way for in person learning, according to authorities.

Given the rapid vaccination program, the Abu Dhabi Emergency, Crisis and Disasters Committee also recommended Monday the easing of restrictions for nurseries.

Nurseries, which have been operating at limited capacity, can now increase the number of children in each group or “bubble.”

For those aged between 45 days and two-years-old, a bubble can now include 12 children, up from eight, while for the age group of two-years-old to four, a bubble can include 16 children, up from 10.

Nurseries, however, must continue ensuring a minimum space requirement of 3.5 square meters per child in each classroom and an area of 5 square meters in open areas.

The decision came following a review of COVID-19 statistics related to cases in children’s nurseries in Abu Dhabi, which showed a consistently low infection rate, authorities said.

The latest developments in the sector will be a welcoming sight for parents, more than a year after the onset of the coronavirus pandemic that disrupted education procedures globally.