Although for many students in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the end of the academic year signifies the start of a long-awaited summer vacation, the situation is often different for teachers. While school holidays may seem like a lengthy break, educators and school administrators note that a significant portion of this time is dedicated to preparing for the upcoming academic year.
This preparation includes developing curricula, professional development, analyzing student results, and ensuring campuses are ready for the resumption of classes. Rebecca Gray, Director of Education at Taaleem, emphasized that teaching remains one of the most demanding yet rewarding professions, and the notion that teachers enjoy long holidays is inaccurate.
She stated that the annual teacher leave is significantly less than commonly believed, and that school holiday periods differ from the teachers' own vacations because much of the time before and after each break is spent on planning, preparation, and fulfilling professional duties.
During the summer holidays, teachers in UAE schools often work behind the scenes to ensure a smooth transition to the next semester. Gray specified that educators use part of the summer to assess student performance, create lessons, and participate in training programs, while school leaders handle broader operational tasks.
She added that many teachers participate in curriculum development, student result analysis, creation of new work schedules, attendance at professional development programs, and onboarding new colleagues during the summer. School leaders also take on responsibilities for staff recruitment, strategic planning, child protection checks, and ensuring campus readiness before students return.
For CBSE schools in the UAE, the academic calendar typically provides a summer break of about six to eight weeks and a winter break of two to three weeks. However, education sector leaders believe these periods are part of the curriculum and should not always be viewed as a regular vacation.
Punit MK Vasu, CEO of Indian High Group of Schools, noted that the long-held image of teachers relaxing on the beach in the summer creates an unfair perception of the profession. He stated that the myth that teaching involves long weeks of rest with cold lemonade on the beach in the summer and short trips to winter retreats has long been debunked, and it is a common misconception that teachers are on vacation whenever the school is closed.
Vasu also stressed that teaching duties often continue outside official working hours, as educators dedicate personal time to lesson preparation, student assessment, and skill improvement. He called attention to the 44 weeks of continuous work expected of every educator in a typical academic year, rather than just the holidays they receive.
He noted that education, similar to healthcare, is considered a vital service due to its impact on society, but the uniqueness of teaching is that the teacher's work often intrudes into their home. Given that KHDA inspections have become a regular part of the school calendar, the requirements and minimum standards for teacher performance have significantly increased. Vasu emphasized that teachers are constantly under scrutiny, and classroom expectations and academic standards demand continuous preparation.
Nevertheless, educators insist that holidays are not entirely filled with work. Many use this break to spend time with family, recharge, and pursue personal interests, while some voluntarily continue professional training. Vasu reported that most teachers choose to remain academically engaged even during holidays, spending 1-2 hours a day at home, sometimes more, on grading students, updating lesson plans, preparing worksheets, reviewing the curriculum, and planning classes.
Some schools in the UAE are taking steps to ensure meaningful rest for teachers while encouraging continuous learning through flexible programs. Nufal Ahmed, Founder and Managing Director of Woodlem Education, believes that teachers need time to rest and reconnect with their personal lives to return to the classroom energized. He explained that this time is an important opportunity for rest, reflection, self-care, and renewal.
Ahmed added that the school consciously refrains from assigning routine academic tasks or school matters to teachers during the holidays, allowing them to focus on well-being. Continuous professional growth is encouraged through flexible learning modules that teachers can undertake at their convenience. Ahmed is convinced that refreshed teachers ultimately create a stronger educational environment for students.
Experts suggest that the smoother traffic flow observed across the UAE during school holidays could potentially be maintained throughout the year after classes resume.
While the summer break naturally reduces school-related travel, transport and labor experts believe part of this improvement can be achieved by distributing demand. Measures such as staggered office hours, flexible start times, limiting remote work options, carpooling, and increased use of school buses can help reduce the concentration of vehicles during the busiest morning and evening hours.
Steve Burnell, CEO of STS Group, the largest private school bus operator in the UAE, noted a noticeable improvement in morning traffic flow every summer. He emphasized that while overall traffic volume decreases during holidays, it demonstrates an important lesson: congestion is often related not just to volume, but to timing. Burnell stated that distributing transport demand through flexible working hours and increasing the use of school buses will allow the existing road network to operate more efficiently without the need for new lanes.
The issue has become particularly relevant as residents report reduced travel times during holidays, especially on routes affected by school drop-offs, commutes, and inter-emirate travel.
Previous studies by the Dubai government showed that a two-hour window for flexible start times combined with four to five days of remote work per month can reduce peak hour commute times by 30 percent. These same studies also found that if 20 percent of employees work remotely, traffic volume on Sheikh Zayed Road and Al Khail Road can decrease by 9.8 and 8.4 percent, respectively.
Thomas Edelmann, founder and managing director of RoadSafetyUAE, believes that school trips contribute to rush hour congestion, but they are not the sole cause. He added that the impact of school runs is likely to be more noticeable in areas with a high concentration of educational institutions, although detailed comparative data was not immediately available. Edelmann also noted that flexible work measures can help maintain smoother driving, but additional steps are required.
He called for the implementation of practical changes, such as shifting office schedules, flexible start times, and expanding remote work capabilities. Furthermore, he advocated for measures to increase passenger numbers per vehicle through legal carpooling schemes and wider use of school buses. According to an RTA study, one school bus can replace up to 50 private cars on the road.
Burnell insists that private school transport should not be seen as a source of the problem, but rather as part of the solution. He argues that congestion around schools is caused equally by travel behavior and road capacity. He stressed that the UAE already has a highly regulated school transport network capable of safely and efficiently transporting a large number of children. The main task is to convince more parents who have a choice to use these services instead of driving their children individually. Burnell added that every extra child traveling by bus means one less private car contributing to rush hour congestion, while also reducing emissions and increasing safety near schools.
Earlier this year, Dubai began testing another model aimed at reducing the number of individual school trips. A shared school transport program, launched by the Roads and Transport Authority in collaboration with Yango Group and Urban Express, uses shared SUVs to transport students attending nearby schools and following similar neighborhood corridors. The pilot aims to reduce traffic, travel time, transportation costs, and carbon emissions. If successful, this model could be expanded to other communities or adapted for other types of shared rides.
Mahesh Shahdadpuri, chairman of TASC Outsourcing Group, stated that workplace flexibility has evolved from an employee benefit to a business strategy. Companies have actively invested in digital collaboration tools and performance evaluation systems in recent years, making it easier for some organizations to move away from rigid schedules. He believes that for many office roles, a two-hour start window is a realistic option that can improve employee well-being while simultaneously easing rush hour congestion.
Instead of a full return to fixed office schedules post-pandemic, many employers are adopting what Shahdadpuri calls 'structured flexibility.' Under this approach, employees are given greater autonomy while companies maintain clear requirements for collaboration, accountability, and team cohesion. For broader adoption of flexible scheduling, companies need clear policies, measurable performance indicators, supportive leadership, and technology that allows teams to interact effectively. He concluded that flexibility must be designed considering each organization's operational needs, and successful implementation depends on trust, clear communication, and a strong focus on results and accountability.
Professional services, technology, finance, consulting, and corporate functions are among the sectors best suited for implementing flexible schedules or remote work. Medicine, manufacturing, hospitality, retail, logistics, and other customer-facing industries are more dependent on physical employee presence. Nevertheless, even in these sectors, companies can shift shifts or offer greater scheduling flexibility without compromising services.
Employers' main concerns usually relate to productivity, oversight, collaboration, corporate culture, and ability to meet client expectations. Shahdadpuri noted that these difficulties often arise from unclear processes or outdated management methods, rather than from flexibility itself. He emphasized that organizations that define clear goals, invest in managerial capabilities, and equip teams with appropriate collaboration tools find that flexibility can coexist with high productivity.
