COVID-19: A year since schools had first closed, pupils and educators in UAE reflect on challenges faced

COVID-19: A year since schools had first closed, pupils and educators in UAE reflect on challenges faced

Dubai: A year since the first-ever school closures in the UAE, forced by the COVID-19 pandemic, the country's biggest school group, Dubai-based GEMS Education, is reflecting back on the challenges faced by students and teachers. In March 2020, schools were asked to close campus and move to full distance learning as a precaution against the virus. The unprecedented shift meant students and teachers had to adjust to full online education for the first time. They faced, to varying degrees, issues regarding technology, content and schedules. It was also a difficult time emotionally and psychologically, pupils and educators said. At the end of August 2020, after the long summer break, most schools started reopening again under new government health and safety rules for COVID-19, which included PCR tests, temperature checks, masks, social distancing, and many other precautionary measures. While a few schools welcomed back all its students, most schools adopted a blended model, mixing online and face-to-face classes. Recently, schools in all emirates except Abu Dhabi and Dubai, were directed to move to full distance learning until the end of this term or until further notice. Starting Sunday, GEMS Education “” which operates over 40 schools in the UAE, as well