This policy comes in line with the directives of the UAE’s wise leadership to make schooling process easier for both the parents and schoolchildren, enhance family cohesion through ensuring a balance between social life and work, achieve family and social security, as well as strengthen the role of the family as a nucleus of society.

The policy is also aimed at achieving job satisfaction, workplace happiness and harmony for parents and smooth transition and for children from home to school. Nursery and kindergarten children will be happy to accompany their parents on the first day, which enhances their ability to adapt to the school environment. This allows for more flexibility during the first week of schooling for parents of this group of children, making a good start for the school year.

"Back to School" policy allows ministries and federal entities the opportunity to give their working parents flexible working hours during their children’s first school day, by allowing them to come late or depart early, without affecting the workflow and quality of services, and in line with regulations. The policy also stipulates that employees who have children enrolled in nurseries or kindergartens should be allowed to perform flexible work for one week from the beginning of the school year.

HE Ohoud Khalfan Al Roumi, Minister of State for Happiness and Quality of Life congratulated the students and their parents across the country, and in the public and private sectors, wishing students a happy and successful academic year.

Al-Roumi said: “The new policy reflects the keenness of the National Program for Happiness & Quality of Life to enhance the role of the family and achieve a balance between social life and work, promote the quality of life in our society and coordinate with the concerned authorities in this regard. As the children, especially those going to school for the first time, need to accompany their parents at the beginning of the school year, the Program coordinated with the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources to develop this policy, which allows the participation of parents with their children on the first day of their schooling.”

Dr. Abdurrahman Al Awar, Director General of the Federal Authority for Government Human Resources confirmed that the Authority is set to modernize the human resources policies and legislation in the Federal Government and launch new initiatives that will raise the level of happiness and quality of life for employees. He said that the new policy was based on a recommendation from the National Program for Happiness and Quality of Life to help parents and to take into consideration the requirements of the new school year. He hoped that this will have a positive impact on the children at the beginning of the academic year.

Achieving a better Work – Life Balance

This policy provides the necessary flexibility at the beginning of the academic year for more than 28,000 parents working in the Federal Government, who will accompany more than 90,000 children to their schools on the first day of school. More than 4,000 children under the age of five are benefiting from this policy for a week due to the short working hours of their parents.

The National Program for Happiness and Quality of Life recommended that this new policy be incorporated in government policies, in cooperation with FAHR, after being identified as a community need to build a working environment that supports the work -life balance and helps parents at the beginning of each academic year. Back to School new policy will also be adopted as a permanent practice in the Federal Government to enhance the quality of life of employees and their children.