UAE public and private schools to have unified holidays

Public and private schools will have uniform holidays for the academic year 2013/14 and private schools refusing to comply with this decision will be penalised, according to the Minister of Education. Humaid Mohammad Obaid Al Qatari, Minister of Education, made the announcement during the second briefing for the next academic year where he discussed the changes and preparations that the ministry will implement at the start of the school year in September. The minister also revealed that the new academic year will see many changes in examinations. These include the replacement of second term exams for grade six to eleven students to an evaluation exam and school project. The evaluation exam will be set by the schools and will account for a smaller percentage of the final grade. This comes in response to parents who were unhappy with the ministry's decision to divide the school year to three terms instead of two, which was implemented in the academic year 2010/11. Parents said that the additional exam that came with the extra term was a burden to both them and their children. The Minister also said that grade one to three students in all public schools will have to undergo evaluations in the first school term in the three main subjects: Arabic, English and maths. The third term will be replaced with another evaluation. This will help measure the student's progress from the first to third term. Grade three and five students will also have a change in examinations as the second semester exam will be replaced with a national test and a school project. Public and private schools will have uniform holidays for the academic year 2013/14 and private schools refusing to comply with this decision will be penalised, according to the Minister of Education. Humaid Mohammad Obaid Al Qattami, Minister of Education, made the announcement during the second briefing for the next academic year where he discussed the changes and preparations that the ministry will implement at the start of the school year in September. The minister also revealed that the new academic year will see many changes in examinations. These include the replacement of second term exams for grade six to eleven students to an evaluation exam and school project. The evaluation exam will be set by the schools and will account for a smaller percentage of the final grade. This comes in response to parents who were unhappy with the ministry's decision to divide the school year to three terms instead of two, which was implemented in the academic year 2010/11. Parents said that the additional exam that came with the extra term was a burden to both them and their children. The Minister also said that grade one to three students in all public schools will have to undergo evaluations in the first school term in the three main subjects: Arabic, English and maths. The third term will be replaced with another evaluation. This will help measure the student's progress from the first to third term. Grade three and five students will also have a change in examinations as the second semester exam will be replaced with a national test and a school project. Source: Gulf News