Pakistani students who returned to their motherland during summer break could not rejoin the school due to immense flooding in Pakistan.
School principals in UAE said that this is due to higher prices of Pakistan air tickets due to flooding in Pakistan.
Pramod Mahajan, Director-Principal of Sharjah Indian School, said, “At Sharjah schools and particularly in my school, I see less attendance after schools reopened after the summer break.
That’s because ticket prices from the southern state of Kerala to Sharjah and Dubai are soaring around this time. People looking to book earlier were waiting for the prices to fall, but that didn’t happen. Instead, the prices kept rising.
In addition, the principal said that most people this year wanted to visit Pakistan because the covid situation was much better this year in comparison to the last two years of the pandemic.
But students could not come back as there was significant flooding in Pakistan. Principal Mahajan also added that another primary reason behind less attendance in schools is many of the students tested positive during PCR tests.
According to the new COVID19 update, students must get PCR tests after the summer break. The students aged 12 and above are asked to bring a PCR test report before coming to the school.
The update states that students above twelve must have a PCR test report while returning to school after a long summer break.
The update includes that the PCR negative test report must not exceed ninety-six hours from the starting first day of school after the summer break.
The National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority shared the update on Tuesday, August 23, 2022. Students above twelve years are obliged to submit their PCR test reports, but Teachers and other staff are also asked to show their negative PCR test report, which is not older than 96 hours from the first day of joining.
Other updates during the announcement stated that bus drivers and bus attendants must continue wearing masks and sanitizing their hands while on the job.