Adec opens ten new public schools at cost of Dh1bn

ABU DHABI // Ten new public schools, costing a total of more than Dh1 billion and with places for 15,000 Emirati pupils, will open for the new academic year this month.

The schools are part of the Abu Dhabi Education Council’s Future Schools Project to open 100 public schools by 2020, 58 of which have now been built.

Five of the schools will open in Al Ain with room for 6,500 pupils, while the other five have been built around the emirate and can cater for 8,500 children.

Dr Amal Al Qubaisi, director general of Adec, announced the new schools yesterday at Umm Al Arab School, named after the mother of the nation, Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak.

“We want our students to lift their heads up high when graduating from a school that holds the name of our mother, Umm Al Arab or Umm Al Emirat,” said Dr Al Qubaisi.

The schools were built by Musanada, Abu Dhabi’s general services company.

“We feel very proud to have teamed up with Musanada to achieve these outstanding universal standards. Hand in hand, we created the perfect school design,” said Dr Al Qubaisi.

“The 10 schools are all going to be ready to welcome students in the new school year. This huge jump in standards will be reflected in our students’ outcomes. It will definitely push them to give more and we are all looking forward to seeing it happen.

“We encourage group work in classrooms, unlike the old school systems. We believe it motivates innovation and creativity in students while learning.

“The school is a community by itself and we are creating a curriculum that will build the students’ dreams and teach them how to bring them to life. We created schools that will help us with this mission.”

Mohamed Al Dhaheri, Adec’s executive director of school operations, said the schools were designed to cater for children of varied academic and physical abilities.

“Those with special needs were at top of our consideration when taking each step, from the building’s design to the design of the toilets,” Mr Al Dhaheri said.

Dr Al Qubaisi said: “The buildings are special-needs friendly equipped with elevators for their convenience. There are consultation rooms dedicated to those with special needs.

“We do not want to isolate them from other students. That is why all classrooms can accommodate all kind of students.”

The new schools in Abu Dhabi include the Dh105 million Hamdan bin Zayed School.

Two schools for Al Falah – Rooh Al Ittihad School for boys and Umm Al Arab School for girls – were built at a cost of Dh306m.

There is also Yas School on Yas Island, which cost Dh167m, has 75 classrooms and can accommodate up to 2,000 pupils.

Al Samaliya School was built for 1,260 girls in Al Shawamekh region with 42 classrooms.

The five schools in Al Ain include Al Jud School in Al Salamat, built at a cost of Dh103m with a capacity of 1,410 pupils, from pre-school to Grade 1.

The Dh105m Neama School can also accommodate 1,410 pre-school and Grade 1 boys and girls, while Sheikh bint Soror School in Al Yahar, also for Grade 1 pupils, can accommodate up to 1,250.

In Al Shwaib, the 42-classroom Al Maserah School will open to 1,000 pupils, and the Dh94m Muhammad bin Khalid School in Al Muwaiji is a mixed school for 1,250 pupils.

Schools with fewer than 1,200 pupils have been replaced with schools that can accommodate many more pupils, said Mr Al Dhaheri.

Adec said the schools were equipped with furniture and educational materials needed for opening day, and new teachers had been recruited.

ealdhaheri@thenational.ae