By Tuqa Khalid

DUBAI -- Universities in the UAE are banned from issuing academic warning and dismissing students due to the coronavirus outbreak in the country, said Minister of State for Higher Education and Advanced Skills, Ahmad Bin Abdullah Al-Falasi.

“In order to achieve the goals of the education system... Higher education institutions are obligated to exempt students from warnings and dismissals, in addition to a commitment not to deny them the entrance to final examinations during the period of distance learning,” Al-Falasi said.

As part of the government’s efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus, the Ministry of Education had announced a four-week closure of all public and private schools and higher education institutions across the UAE.

The spring vacation, initially scheduled to start on March 29 to April 12, started March 8. A pilot program for distance education was implemented during the last weeks of the vacation to ensure education continuity and to avoid any impact on school days.

The decision granted the private schools and higher education institutions the freedom to apply the procedures they see necessary to guarantee education continuity

The ministry utilized the vacation to conduct massive operations to sterilize school and university facilities and buses, in accordance with the international standards for health, safety and hygiene.

The ministry then announced on April 2 that the distance learning system will continue to be applied till the end of the current academic year 2019-20 for all public and private schools and higher education institutions across the UAE. -- Al Arabiya English