DUBAI // Families might have to rework travel plans because of a new Ministry of Education ruling that schools cannot take a full week off for Eid Al Adha.
Public and private schools were told yesterday they must reopen after the Eid break on Wednesday, November 9.
The decision was taken to curb the "culture of unnecessary holidays" that parents have become accustomed to, said Ali Mihad Al Suwaidi, the director general of the ministry.
International schools that coupled their midterm break with the Eid holidays said the announcement would not affect them: they will reopen on Sunday, November 13, as part of a school calendar the ministry approved at the start of the year.
Some schools had sent circulars out a week ago informing parents about a holiday from November 6 to 12. Ashok Kumar, the chief executive of the Indian High School in Dubai, said that as a result, many parents and teachers had booked their tickets.
"We will wait and talk to the authorities before we change our plans," he said.
But Mr Al Suwaidi was adamant. "Schools that have told parents it will be a week-long Eid break must reverse this decision. They should have waited for an official notification on the duration of the holidays from the ministry," he said. "The Ministry of Education insists that all children should be back in school on Wednesday."
R K Nair, the headmaster at Sharjah Indian School, said he had told parents the length of the school break only after receiving a ministry confirmation. "We were waiting for a ministry approval and just informed parents that children need to be back on Wednesday," he said.
Any proposed holiday must be approved by the ministry before circulars are sent out to parents. Mr Al Suwaidi said the three-day break cannot be stretched unless it is part of a preapproved calendar.
Clive Pierrepont, the director of communications at Taaleem, which has schools in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, said their calendars were preapproved and the decision would not affect them.
In public schools, the first term includes only 67 teaching days. "When there are so many days off, then at the end there is no school year, only holidays, and children are constantly absent," Mr Al Suwaidi said.
Fouzia Hassan Gharib, the assistant undersecretary at the ministry, said because of the long public holidays, teachers at public schools find it hard to complete the syllabus. "The schools must insist that children be back on Wednesday to continue studies," she said. "We do not want to receive complaints like the curriculum is too heavy or we could not finish the portions, which is why we have not given the whole week off."
Officials have been battling low attendance at schools, particularly before and after public holidays. Mr Al Suwaidi said restricting days off will send a clear message.
"This may cause discontent among parents but we want them to understand that pupils need to be in school studying and they already have enough holiday time during the year."
Some parents have already expressed dissatisfaction.
Noura Saleem from Sharjah said she believed the ministry should recant and give the entire week off.
"Parents won't send their children for just two days - it's always been the case.
aahmed@thenational.ae
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How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers
Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.
It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.
The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.
Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.
He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.
AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”
A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.
Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.
Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.
Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.
By contrast, computational drug and material discovery company Schrödinger fell 27 per cent after quarterly and full-year results showed its core software sales and drug development pipeline slowing.
Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.
In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”
Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.
She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.
Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.
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Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
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More on animal trafficking
Jordan cabinet changes
In
- Raed Mozafar Abu Al Saoud, Minister of Water and Irrigation
- Dr Bassam Samir Al Talhouni, Minister of Justice
- Majd Mohamed Shoueikeh, State Minister of Development of Foundation Performance
- Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research
- Falah Abdalla Al Ammoush, Minister of Public Works and Housing
- Basma Moussa Ishakat, Minister of Social Development
- Dr Ghazi Monawar Al Zein, Minister of Health
- Ibrahim Sobhi Alshahahede, Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Environment
- Dr Mohamed Suleiman Aburamman, Minister of Culture and Minister of Youth
Out
- Dr Adel Issa Al Tawissi, Minister of High Education and Scientific Research
- Hala Noaman “Basiso Lattouf”, Minister of Social Development
- Dr Mahmud Yassin Al Sheyab, Minister of Health
- Yahya Moussa Kasbi, Minister of Public Works and Housing
- Nayef Hamidi Al Fayez, Minister of Environment
- Majd Mohamed Shoueika, Minister of Public Sector Development
- Khalid Moussa Al Huneifat, Minister of Agriculture
- Dr Awad Abu Jarad Al Mushakiba, Minister of Justice
- Mounir Moussa Ouwais, Minister of Water and Agriculture
- Dr Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education
- Mokarram Mustafa Al Kaysi, Minister of Youth
- Basma Mohamed Al Nousour, Minister of Culture
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