BREAKING: All GEMS schools to remain closed on Wednesday 17 April across the UAE

GEMS Schools in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and all across the UAE will remain closed and on distance learning tomorrow, Wednesday 17 April 2024, due to the unstable UAE weather. Zafar Raja, Group Chief Operating Officer, GEMS Education, told SchoolsCompared:

“Given the severity of the weather conditions across the UAE today and in the interests of the safety and wellbeing of our students and staff, we have made the decision to extend remote learning across the GEMS Education network.

All our schools will therefore remain closed on Wednesday 17 April, with students continuing to learn from home. Our families have been informed and will be kept updated through our usual channels.”

What about other UAE schools?

All UAE schools have switched to distance learning on Tuesday 16 April due to the inclement UAE weather sweeping across the country, causing widespread flooding and damage to property. With forecasts predicting the stormy UAE weather to continue into the morning of Wednesday 17 April, parents are asking if all schools will remain closed again tomorrow?

Public schools closed for both Tuesday and Wednesday

The Emirates Schools Education Establishment announced on Monday 15 April that all public schools in the UAE would be closed for two days – both Tuesday 16 and Wednesday 17 April – due to the unstable UAE weather forecast. The establishment posted on social media:

“Due to the current weather conditions, the Emirates School Education Foundation decided to adopt the distance learning system for all government schools in the country on Tuesday and Wednesday, corresponding to April 16 and 17, 2024, in order to preserve the safety of students and teaching staff.”

However, this ruling does not apply to private schools in the UAE, which are subject to the decisions of each emirate’s own education authority and subject to the individual emirate’s local Emergency, Crisis and Disaster Management team.

Some private schools to return to school tomorrow?

Private schools across the UAE have been officially instructed to close only for one day, on Tuesday 16 April. This means that private school students should expect to return to in-person learning from tomorrow 17 April. GEMS Education has taken the decision pre-emptively to close schools tomorrow as well for safety reasons.

 

Read more: Will UAE schools remain closed tomorrow?