One year has passed since the implementation of the “4-day” system in educational institutions in Sharjah

Students' families are calling for a reduction in fees... after "deleting" a school day

Students' families took advantage of a questionnaire about the effectiveness of applying the four-day-a-week system in educational institutions, which the Sharjah Private Education Authority invited them to participate in, to demand a reduction in tuition fees.

They stressed that working for four days instead of five in private schools requires a parallel reduction in tuition fees, bus fees and courses, in order to match the time specified in the school.

The Sharjah Private Education Authority had directed the administrations of private schools in the emirate to invite their students to participate in a questionnaire about school hours for a period of four days a week, through a circular it recently issued, in which it stated: “After a year has passed since the application of four working days a week in educational institutions, Which was unique to the Emirate of Sharjah, the Sharjah Private Education Authority is conducting a study to measure the effectiveness of applying the four-day working week in educational institutions, and to study its relationship to productivity and quality of life for students and parents.

The circular added: "Please fill out the questionnaire, which will be dealt with in strict confidentiality, and the authority will analyze the data collectively, and will not analyze the data individually, and the students' families can participate in a number of questionnaires with their children, so that they fill out a questionnaire for each son or daughter."

The questionnaire included several points, the most important of which is identifying the impact of working for four days and a three-day weekend on the student, determining the degree of availability of enthusiasm, going to school motivated by learning, going to school daily (commitment to attendance and achieving lower absence rates), and participating in extra-curricular activities. , which develop student skills, complete homework and course projects, and make progress on curricular standards.

The students’ families: Ibrahim Al-Sayed, Muhammad Wajih, and Imad Astfanous confirmed to Emirates Al-Youm that the four-day school hours have advantages, especially as it allows the student to spend more time with his family, engage in recreational activities, and go to the gym or exercise. Sports to improve his physical health, and other activities that require sufficient time to be practiced.

They added that it is necessary to consider three aspects with the implementation of the school time system (four days per week), which is the reduction of tuition fees, and the reduction of school bus fees to match the reduced time period (from five days to four per week), considering that “these fees are exaggerated, Especially with the number of days during which students are transported from home to school on the daily school trip).

They also called for a review of the size of the prescribed lessons, in order to relieve the great pressure represented by teaching the curricula in four days instead of five per week, so that the student can enjoy the comfort in understanding the topics taught to him.

On the other hand, Jumana Youssef (mother of two students) considered that working for five days is better, as it allows the teacher more time for explanation and review, noting that she spends her vacation days re-explaining to her children, and that her task has become more difficult, because she is trying to cover what he cannot The teacher covered it from the explanation, due to the lack of time to explain it completely and clearly.

Fatima Ahmed (mother of a fourth-grade student) said that the reduction of working days to four days made the burden double on the student and the teaching staff, as it became necessary for the teachers to finish the curriculum according to the study plan, which made them unable to explain extensively and deeply.

She added, "The teacher aims to complete the course, so he relies on the principle of quick explanation without measuring the extent of understanding and comprehension of the student, which harmed the educational output, in addition to increasing the burden on the parents, who have become obliged to bridge the gap and follow up with their children fully."

And she considered that “students’ absence from school for three days makes them unrelated to it, and more inclined to be lazy,” noting that “setting four days of school time per week requires decisions to reduce the content of the curricula to match the number of school days instead of lengthening the school day and the student returning home exhausted by nearly Five o'clock in the evening, which means that he is unable to review his lessons.

• The Sharjah Private Education Authority invited students' families to participate in a questionnaire about school hours for four days a week.

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