The UAE's public schools are gearing up to welcome more than 290,000 students and as many as 23,492 educational staff for the new academic year.
The public education sector is becoming highly competitive with the opening of 14 new schools across different Emirates and attracting over 20,000 students who have transferred from private schools.
Meanwhile, the Ajyal Schools model, which combines the national curriculum with the American curriculum, will welcome more than 13,000 students across 18 schools this year.
Sarah Bint Yousef Al Amiri, Minister of State for Public Education and Advanced Technology, said that the Emirates Schools Establishment (ESE) teams commenced preparations for the new academic year prior to the conclusion of the previous one.
"A clear roadmap and action plan have been developed to enhance overall school readiness, as well as refurbish a number of them as required," said Al Amiri, who is also the chairperson of ESE.
She also highlighted the participation of 23,492 educational professionals in a 'Specialized Training Week', featuring 165 workshops and three educational forums covering various specialty areas.
In preparation for the new academic year, the school transport fleet has been beefed up with 4,800 buses, while 3,600 tablets will be distributed to students and more than 2,000 interactive display devices will be provided to schools as learning aids.
The ESE confirmed that a total of 600,000 school uniforms have been distributed through various sales outlets, while nearly 10 million copies of curriculum books have been printed, and public schools across the Emirates will begin distributing them to students on the first day of school.
Emirates School Establishments has completed preparations for the academic year 2023-2024.
— UAEGOV (@UAEmediaoffice) August 22, 2023
The physical and legislative infrastructure of the education sector have been developed to ensure highest level of the competitiveness.@ese_ae pic.twitter.com/p1N7Y33xLU
معالي سارة الأميري وزيرة دولة للتعليم العام والتكنولوجيا المتقدمة، رئيس مؤسسة الإمارات للتعليم المدرسي خلال إحاطة إعلامية حول الاستعدادات للعام الدراسي الجديد : أكثر من 290 ألف طالب وطالبة يستعدون للالتحاق بالعام الدراسي الجديد في المدارس الحكومية@ese_ae pic.twitter.com/raPcioBNN6
— UAEGOV (@UAEmediaoffice) August 22, 2023