Dubai: Starting the academic year in September, which falls in the beginning of Ramadan, is a disadvantage for many parents, pupils, and school principals who have called for the academic year to be postponed.
Last week Gulf News learnt that the academic year might be delayed, since it will commence with Ramadan.
Parents say the extra religious rituals observed in Ramadan along with the extremely hot climate of the UAE will be stressful for adults, as well as children going to schools.
Mohammad Al Mass, Principal of Al Ma'arif Secondary School for Boys, said: "I am not against starting the academic year as scheduled but I request on the behalf of parents and students to give us at least a seven-day vacation at the end of Ramadan as it is known that we [Muslims] spend all night praying and reading the Quran in mosques."
Absence
Many of the pupils come late to schools and around 20 per cent of pupils are frequently absent during the month. It is also estimated that around 10 per cent of pupils come in late from every class and also around 10 per cent sleep during class, said Al Mass.
Starting the academic year during Ramadan could be de-motivating for pupils and the warm climate will significantly slow down their performance, said Mira Abdul Allah from Umm Ammar Public School.
It is also expected that around 70 to 80 per cent of students attending Al Qurtoba Adult Education Centre will be absent during the month of Ramadan especially since it falls in the beginning of the academic year, said Fatima Al Malek, the principal. "It would be a dream come true to postpone the academic year. I am sure most of our students will not attend as they are housewives handling many tasks, specifically during Ramadan," she said.
She went on to say that conducting classes during Ramadan is "utterly useless" for them as they can't have a class with less than 15 pupils.
During this month a number of parents travel to Makkah for Umrah, which is among the reasons they are absent during Ramadan, said a principal of another Adult Education Centre.
Lamis Ahmad, a teacher at a public high school, said they have had incidents of students fainting during summer because there is a lack of air conditioning in school buses, adding they might have more incidents this Ramadan. "Generally the performance of pupils slows down during Ramadan, specifically in the after noon," she said. Mariam Al Muhairi, teacher at Al Rabe'a kindergarten, said: "I deal with kindergarten pupils who are normally very active, they require a lot of care.
"I tend to be less busy during Ramadan since it is common for people to stay up late praying and reading the Quran."
At least two other Gulf States, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, will start their academic year after Ramadan.
Scheduled to open on August 31
Dubai: Public and private schools in the UAE that follow the Ministry of Education curriculum are scheduled to open on August 31, if the decision to delay the start of the academic year is not taken, said an official.
However, schools following other curricula will operate according to their system, within a margin of two weeks from August 31, said Taha Al Hamri, Director of Administrative Services Unit in the Knowledge and Human Development Authority.
"It is without a doubt that we are losing a lot of the Arab and Islamic culture in the UAE. Ramadan is one occasion to revive the spiritual aura of Islam, after all we are still considered an Islamic country. Pupils need the time to understand the essence of this holy month, which is why I believe the academic year should start after Ramadan to give students the time to observe their rituals," said Badriya Al Shouwab, a tutor.
Khalid Karim, a Palestinian, said: "Ramadan is a period for family gatherings, praying, meditating, and self-reflection. I hope my children will get some time off school, since during Ramadan they are overwhelmed with studies and homework."
For Emirati national Mohammad Khalifa, postponing would be better for pupils as teachers always try to finish the required material for the semester as fast as possible since classes are shorter in Ramadan.
As a solution, Huda Al Falasi, a UAE national, proposed adding an extra hour to the school period after Ramadan during the first semester.
"This should cover the material for the first semester. During Ramadan, the performance of pupils drops and it can affect their grades. It is a sad fact because it's contrary to the spirit of Islam," she said.
UAE national Ahmad Al Merri, who has a daughter studying at a public school, said that the air-conditioning in classrooms and school buses in public schools is not of a good quality.
"If it were not for the hot climate in the country, I wouldn't have advocated delaying the academic year. There are still some public buses without air-conditioning and some classrooms hold up to 40 students when it should only accommodate 25," said Al Merri.
As for Abdul Rahim, another UAE national and a parent of three children going to a public school, he said: "I don't mind either. Children should learn to adapt and it will be a rewarding experience to balance between your studies and prayers. I also think it is too late to delay the academic year now."
Lunar cycle: Muslim calendar
The Muslim calendar is based on a lunar cycle. The ninth month of Ramadan, which runs from the appearance of one new crescent moon to the next, gets earlier by around 11 days each year.
Ramadan this year is expected to start on the first of September. In 2012, Ramadan will take place from July 21 to August 20.
It will be hot, humid and still uncomfortable when Ramadan starts in the first week of September, according to the Dubai Met office.
The average mean maximum temperature will be 35.9C. "That's pretty hot," said Clive Stevens, duty forecaster. "It's still possible we may go higher," he said. The average mean humidity will be around 80 per cent.
Humidity needs to be less than 50 per cent to be comfortable.
By Siham Al Najami, Staff Reporter