Ramadan hours announced for UAE schools

UAE schools will reduce their lesson times to 30 minutes per class for the period of Ramadan, the Ministry of Education has announced.

In the announcement made on Sunday, the Ministry specified that pupils who attend the schools and follow the ministry’s online curriculum would have their e-learning classes set to no longer than 30 minutes across every education stage. Classes were previously 40 minutes long.

Children aged 4 and 5 years (kindergarten pupils) will have 15 classes a week, which amounts to 7.5 hours of teaching over five days.

Those in grades 1 to 4 (aged 6-11 years) will also have 15 classes across the school week, with each school day being held from 1:45pm until 3:25pm.

School days for those in grades 5 to 8 (aged 12-14 years) will be reduced to 2.5 hours per day, beginning at 11am and finishing at 1:30pm and comprising five online classes for 30 minutes each. Pupils aged 15 to 17, in grades 9 to 12, will have a three-hour day with classes beginning at 11am and ending at 2.05pm.

Ramadan takes place on the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, and symbolises a time for prayer, reflection and religious devotion. The date in which the month-long period will begin has not yet been confirmed.

If you’re looking for ways to keep the kids engaged outside of school hours during Ramadan, try these free, downloadable activity worksheets.