UAE Cracks Down on Holiday Absences

Student Absences Before Holidays: UAE Tightens Regulations

In the United Arab Emirates' education system, the issue of mass absences on Fridays and before official holidays has become increasingly problematic in recent years. This phenomenon not only threatens the quality of education but also the general societal values. Therefore, the UAE's federal decision-makers have introduced a new set of regulations to curb this worrying trend.

The Roots of the Problem

Neglecting school classes on Fridays and before holidays has long characterized student behavior, particularly in primary and secondary schools. Absences often occur not due to illness or justified family reasons but for convenience or planned long weekend programs. In many cases, parents are partners in this, as they allow or encourage skipping school days for an extra day of rest.

The Ministry of Education and the Federal National Council have, however, made it clear: Friday absences and "arbitrary days off" before holidays are unacceptable and undermine the credibility of the educational system as well as students' sense of responsibility.

New Regulations to Reduce Absences

The package of measures introduced by the ministry is centered around Ministerial Decree No. 79 of 2025, which standardizes absence and attendance records in public schools and introduces new sanctions against regular unexplained absentees. Key elements include:

• Electronic attendance tracking: Schools record attendance through real-time digital systems and send immediate notifications to parents in case of absenteeism.

Stricter sanctions: Absence on Fridays and the days before holidays counts double towards the annual absence limit.

Maximum absence cap: The annual maximum for unjustified absences is set at 15 days.

Personalized measures: Students with regular absences may be directed to child protection authorities if necessary.

Written commitment: Parents must commit in writing to cooperate in reducing absences.

Withholding end-of-year certificates: Students who exceed the permissible absence limit will not automatically receive their certificates.

Significant Improvement in the First Semester

The strict regulations are already having an impact. According to first semester statistics, students showed a 94.7% attendance rate on all school days. Even more remarkable, 86% of students did not miss any day during the school year, compared to the previous years' rate of 3.8%. This represents an improvement of more than 82 percentage points.

According to the ministry, this "qualitative turnaround" is due to parents and schools taking attendance more seriously and no longer ignoring the long-term harmful effects of "occasional absences."

Parental Responsibility at the Core

According to the president of the Federal National Council, however, strict regulations are only part of the solution. He believes that most of the responsibility lies with families, as children are not let out of school by the school — it is the parents who decide not to take them. He also recalled that in the past, students could not return to school with a justification alone but only in the presence of a parent.

This reminder was not nostalgic but aimed to highlight that parental involvement and a sense of responsibility are crucial in maintaining school discipline.

Quality of Education at Stake

Regular absenteeism does not only affect individual performance but also harms school performance, assessability, and reputation. It decreases the continuity of classes, increases the administrative burden on teachers, and disrupts the progress of the curriculum.

Absences on Fridays and before long weekends practically result in "shortened school years" for those who regularly take advantage of these opportunities. Meanwhile, students who are present every day may fall behind in group projects or class work because teachers' attention often focuses on catching up lagging students.

Further Developments Expected

The ministry has not ruled out the possibility of introducing new technological tools and measures in future school years to maintain attendance discipline. The goal is for students to attend school not just out of duty but to develop a sense of responsibility and understand the value of learning.

A system built on community involvement, dialogue between parents and schools, and accountability of institutions can contribute in the long term to raising educational standards.

Summary

The new regulations introduced in the United Arab Emirates send a clear signal: school absences are not to be considered innocent mistakes. Conscious absenteeism — especially on Fridays and before holidays — can have serious consequences, not just for the individual student but for the whole community.

These new measures are not merely administrative tools but are part of a broader social value change. School attendance represents value, and reinforcing this is now not just an expectation but a principle in UAE public education.