The list included both Emiratis and expats.

The UAE Ministry of Education has approved the resignations of 425 teachers and administrative staff, both expats and Emiratis, on end-of-service basis.

Also read: Here's the 2019-20 UAE school calendar



The comments were made after the list of teachers went viral. One list had the names of 177 expat teachers that submitted their resignation and the other had names of 248 Emirati teachers.



The ministry insisted that these figures are "less than previous years".



Khaleej Times has seen both of the lists.



In a statement, the ministry said: "In response to the ministry's decision regarding ending the service of teaching and administrative cadres - it stressed that all of the persons, citizens or expatriates, in the list have previously resigned and their requests were approved. However, it will be applied after the end of the school year in order to maintain the continuation of studies and students' interest.





"Ending their service is according to their wishes, and it is not an unilateral act from the ministry. The number of resignations was fewer compared to general rates in previous years."



As of the 2017-2018 academic year, MoE statistics show that there were a total of 70,016 public and private school teachers in the country.



A high teacher turnover rate is often reported across UAE schools.



Last year, KT had reported that this high rate can impact the quality of education.



"Children - especially in lower classes - get affected by this constant change. A good teacher can have a dramatic impact on the child's achievement only if she connects with the children over a period of time," Tarannum Sheikh, head of primary at The Indian Academy, had said.



Shweta Singh, Human Resources assistant manager at ASPAM Indian International School, had said that schools need to plan their academic year well ahead and communicate any changes to their students, to mentally prepare them.

She believes that high teacher turnover can even cause students to lose their confidence levels.

"Teacher turnover does have a great impact on student progress and learning. Most teachers build a strong bond and healthy relationship with students, making it joyful for them to come to school every day. When teachers leave, it breaks the emotional bond, creating a vacuum for the students. The student's performance gets affected, as they value their teachers as mentors and guides. Their confidence levels drop and they develop a negative attitude towards the school climate," Singh said.

"However, if schools can create a culture of positivity and change management as a priority and communicate it to the students, nurture resilience in them and the grit to move on with their set goals and targets, it will help them accept the change and look forward to school life."



sarwat@khaleejtimes.com