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UAE Unmasking Day: Children celebrate the end of mandatory Covid-19 masks in schools. WATCH the official SchoolsCompared video here
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Schoolchildren, teachers and parents in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and across the UAE came together today to celebrate the announcement of the end of the mandatory regulations that have demanded that teachers, students, principals and parents wear masks inside schools.

For more than two and half years, students in the UAE have communicated behind masked mouths, unable to fully read each other’s facial expressions or follow the movement of their teachers’ lips.

Although mask-wearing was a crucial part of the country’s pandemic precautions and has been shown to be effective in curbing the spread of viruses like Covid-19, many pupils and educators found them restrictive, while parents raised worries about their impact on students’ social and emotional development.

But all of this is soon to be in the past, with the announcement by the UAE’s National Crisis and Disaster Management Authority (NCEMA) that wearing face masks would become optional in most public places – apart from mosques, medical facilities and public transport – from 28 September 2022 onwards.

SchoolsCompared spoke to school Principals from across the country this UAE Unmasking Day and asked them to send us clips showing us how they and their students celebrated the Unmasking Day today.

Watch the Official SchoolsCompared UAE Unmasking Day 2022 video in full here, featuring contributions from:

and many more.

Watch! The official video celebrating the end of masks regulations in schools by the schools and children of the UAE

Both school staff and UAE parents have shared their excitement and delight at the mask rules being lifted. Commenting on the announcement, Shauna Ramskill, Irish mother of three living in Dubai, told SchoolsCompared :

“This news makes me so, so happy! FINALLY, our kids can now breathe properly, socialize and interact with their friends with no more masks.”

Karim Murcia, Principal/ CEO, GEMS Al Barsha National School said:

“The students, staff and parents of GEMS Al Barsha National School were delighted to receive confirmation this week that facemasks will no longer be mandatory in schools.

“We look forward now with great hope and optimism to the future, with our students’ wellbeing still at the heart of all our work, enabling them to feel increasing confidence about their health and safety. We of course remain committed to adhering to ongoing precautionary measures in place to safeguard our community, including maintaining the highest standards of cleanliness and hygiene in and around the school.”

Naveed Iqbal, Principal/CEO, GEMS Metropole School – Motor City

“The recent announcement that masks will no longer be required in most indoor places, including schools, is welcomed by us. It will be great to once again see the expressions of all our students and teachers during lessons, their smiles in assemblies. GEMS Metropole School will continue to follow the guidelines and protocols to prevent the spread of the virus through our robust sanitising measures and other health and safety protocols.”

Meanwhile Faisal Alyousuf, a parent at GEMS Al Barsha National School said:

“I was delighted to hear that the mask mandate was lifted.

“It is exciting to know that children can go to schools now without face coverings, interacting with their peers and everyone else face to face as it is supposed to be, enabling them to resume learning in this journey.

“While masks were important for the past two and a half years, it is also just as important to deal with each other with bare faces, for enhanced learning, to develop stronger emotional intelligence and many other advantages associated with this.

“Lifting the mask mandate is a significant milestone, and I am happy to see it behind us now. I wish all the students a successful journey filled with joy every step of the way.”

Exclusive video: See UAE Unmasking Day Schools’ reaction to the Covid-19 face masks mandate being lifted

Nord Anglia School Dubai

Nord Anglia School Dubai shared a video of its staff and students celebrating their smiles being back:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by NAS Dubai (@nasdubaischool)

Victory Heights Primary School

Victory Heights made a tongue-in-cheek video about what they were hiding under their masks all that time….

The British School Al Khubairat

BSAK shared a fun video of teachers and pupils tearing off their masks this UAE Unmasking Day.


The Wonder Years Nursery

The Wonder Years Nursery created a sweet video about this being the end of an era.

Bloom World Academy 

Bloom World Academy shared an excited montage of happy faces on UAE Unmasking Day:

Aldar’s Al Muna Academy

We love Al Muna Academy’s ‘No masks = more smiles’ post today.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Al Muna Academy (@aamunaacademy)

Safa British School

A wonderful video by Safa British School celebrating smiles being back today.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Safa British School (@safa.sbs)

GEMS International School

A fun celebratory photo from GEMS International School.

Read more on the official announcement ending mask restrictions in UAE schools.

Visit NCEMA here.

Do you have your own story to tell about what it means to you, whether as parents, students Principals or teachers, to see the lifting of all mask restrictions in schools? Contact me at [email protected] and let us know. We would love to hear from you.

© SchoolsCompared.com. A WhichMedia Group publication. 2022. All rights reserved.

About The Author
Tabitha Barda
Tabitha Barda is the Senior Editor of SchoolsCompared.com. Oxbridge educated and an award winning journalist in the UAE for more than a decade, Tabitha is one of the region's shining lights in all that is education in the emirates. A mum herself, she is passionate about helping parents - and finding the stories in education that deserve telling. She is responsible for the busy 24x7 News Desk, our Advisory Boards and Specialist Panels - and Parents United's WHICHPlaydates - a regular meeting place for UAE parents to discuss the issues that matter to them, make friends and network with others. You can often find Tabitha too on Parents United - our Facebook community board, discussing the latest schools and education issues with our parent community in the UAE - and beyond.

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