The Abu Dhabi
Education Council (ADEC) has issued a new child protection law ruling that the
emirate’s private schools are liable to protect students from verbal, physical
and psychological abuse.
The law will come
into effect in the spring.
Under the new regulations,
principals will act as guardians and accept the implications of that status
while the child is in the school’s trust, whether it be on campus or in
school-issued transport like buses.
“The school has to produce and
implement a law for child protection against any assaults,” said Yousif Al
Sheryani, ADEC’s executive director of Private Education And Quality Assurance.
“The regulations urge that
should there be suspicion that a child has been subjected to such assaults, the
event has to be immediately reported to the principal,” he said.
The principal will then be
required to send a written report to ADEC within 24 hours.
Schools will be evaluated in the
spring, and awarded three-year accreditation if their safety systems meet
ADEC’s requirements.
Schools in Abu Dhabi – heavily
populated by the children of Western expats – will be expected to respect the
emirate’s moral standard.
“The school should work in
accordance with the country’s values, morals, traditions and culture as it
should commit not to engage in any activities that are contemptuous to
religion,” he said.
The regulations also include new
rules for school bus drivers and monitors, like certain advanced driving
licenses. Many schools in the emirate, including the Raha International School,
already have bus monitors, or ‘nannies’, and their own rules against bullying.
ADEC will also have the schools
equip buses with cameras and GPSs to ensure maximum children’s safety while
travelling, as buses are a notorious hotspot for school-age abuse.
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