Live updates: Follow the latest news on Iran war
Children in Dubai and Sharjah will begin to return to nurseries from Thursday as part of a nationwide strategy to resume in-person learning after weeks of disruption owing to the Iran war.
Nurseries in government premises and commercial buildings in both emirates will welcome back learners first, authorities confirmed.
Dubai's Knowledge and Human Development Authority said the decision to reopen individual centres would be subject to its approval and in line with "comprehensive safety regulations and procedures".
Sharjah's Private Education Authority said some nurseries would open their doors from Thursday, subject to administrative and teaching staff completing training on crisis and emergency protocols.
The authority said the measures were being taken to ensure children return to a "safe and supportive environment".
It comes after the Education, Human Resources and Community Development Council on Tuesday set out a phased reopening of nurseries from this week.
Those not included in the initial phase can send nursery teachers to homes and community centres in the interim, in accordance with rules and existing procedures.
A decision on a return to classrooms in schools and the rest of the education sector will be announced on Wednesday through the official channels of the Ministry of Education and “relevant higher education authorities”.
Joy as Sharjah teachers go back to school early
Teachers and administrative staff in Sharjah returned to private nurseries and schools on Wednesday, Spea announced, to help prepare for the resumption of lessons.
It said the step was being taken to "ensure their readiness and training on emergency and crisis protocols".
Amity Private School Sharjah welcomed back its entire team of teachers and administrative workers for the first time in several weeks.
Mridula Pande, Amity's head of middle school, said staff were delighted to be back on site and help plan for the much-anticipated return of pupils.
"The atmosphere is quite jubilant right now," she said. "Staff are seeing each other after a long time and of course discussing their strategies, new strategies they have adopted online and how the students were responding to them.
"And of course it's nice to meet each other in person, it makes a lot of difference for the well-being of the staff."
Pranita Pravin, who is responsible for parent relations at Amity Private School Sharjah, said she and colleagues had been given a "renewed sense of purpose".
"Returning to school obviously feels very reassuring, but a little bit of invigorating as well, but I'm sure over time we will overcome this feeling," she said.
"There's a renewed purpose, there's joy because you are meeting your colleagues after a long time, so it feels very refreshing.
"Of course the transition will require some brief adjustment, because there will be a tougher planning that has to take place to be as sure together we'll also overcome this."
Both Ms Pande and Ms Pravin are both keen to see the children return to classrooms, and for a return to normalcy.
"Our hope is always on the very positive side, that everybody comes to school to join. But in the meantime, we hope to keep ourselves prepared for whatever the situation is.
"If it is a hybrid model, we really need to upskill our teachers professional skills. We are waiting for the government instructions, but we are open for changes because we understand the government will always take a good decision on behalf of all of us."
Nurseries, schools and universities have been operating remotely since the beginning of March due to Iranian air strikes on the UAE.
It was previously announced that remote learning would continue across the UAE until at least Friday, after which it would be reviewed weekly.
The war has caused major disruption to education. Aside from the switch to remote learning, international A-level and GCSE examinations have been cancelled.
Leading UK education boards confirmed earlier this month that summer exams for school leavers and university hopefuls would be scrapped, possibly putting academic aspirations on hold.
The Central Board of Secondary Education in India also cancelled its Grade 12 exams.
