Federal workers in the UAE have been given the option to work shorter hours on Monday, so they can drop off and pick up their children on the first day of the new school year.
The move is part of the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources' back-to-school policy, allowing employees to reduce their working day by up to three hours, the authority said on social media.
Workers will need the approval of their line managers and can take the time in one block or divide it to cover drop-off and pick-up.
The flexible work pattern will be extended to cover the first week of the new academic year for federal staff who have children in nurseries and kindergartens.
Staff can also take up the shorter hours offer to attend parent-teacher meetings, graduation ceremonies and other school events during the rest of the academic year, the authority added.
As well as getting the absence signed off by their managers, workers must ensure their absence does not disrupt their department's workflow.
Approved by the UAE Cabinet, the flexible working plan was introduced in 2018 to boost the work-life balance of federal workers.
Thousands of pupils are gearing up to return to classrooms across the Emirates next week.
For many schools in the country, such as British and American establishments, the end of August is the start of the 2024-25 academic year.
However, the school year starts in April for Indian curriculum schools, with the summer holiday an interlude in their calendar.
The UAE academic year for public and private schools is divided into three terms, with winter, spring and summer breaks, and must be made up of at least 182 days.
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The years Ramadan fell in May
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Monterrey 1
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Liverpool 2
Keita (11), Firmino (90 1)
The years Ramadan fell in May
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg
Roma 4
Milner (15' OG), Dzeko (52'), Nainggolan (86', 90 4')
Liverpool 2
Mane (9'), Wijnaldum (25')
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
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David Haye record
Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4
