Private schools have decided to grant students with seasonal flu a two-week compulsory sick leave to avoid transmission to the rest of the students, causing students' resentment and confusion over the accumulation of classes on their children.
Parents of students told Emirates Today that they had received letters from schools stating that students should not be sent to school to prevent infection and give them two-week compulsory leave, while schools attributed its decision to preventive and safety measures to maintain public health in the school environment.
In particular, Umm Khalid said that the administration of the private school where her son is studying in Ajman, asked him not to attend for two weeks for treatment of influenza, despite being submitted to the assessment exams for the first semester.
She explained that she had to take her son to take the evaluation exams after the school refused to return him after recovering, adding that compulsory leave caused the accumulation of quotas on her son.
The mother of the student Maria, that her daughter was infected with a virus that caused the emergence of water pills throughout the body, medically called the syndrome of oral, hand and foot syndrome, and then the school nurse decided to grant her compulsory leave as a disease of smallpox.
She explained that her daughter's health condition does not require a leave because her injury is not contagious, but the school's insistence on the leave caused the accumulation of classes, pointing out that schools do not take medical reports issued by private hospitals.
The student's father, Mohammed Hassan, said his son had flu and high temperatures, and recovered after three days, but the school nurse asked him not to attend for a week.
He added that the schools decided to grant students compulsory sick leave without compensating them for classes, which confuses students and puts them under constant study pressure to catch up with the lessons they missed.
Private school administrations said that compulsory leave for sick students is a precaution to prevent the spread of influenza infection among students, and to ensure the safety and health of students in the educational stages of kindergarten through the fifth semester who are less immune health at that age.
She explained that the granting of compulsory sick leave comes in the context of ensuring the continuation of the educational process for the largest number of healthy students, where a medical examination in nursing rooms for all students who show signs of influenza, to rectify the condition of the patient before the deterioration.