Schools Agency summer camp comes to a close

The Schools Agency, an agency of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), initiated the summer camps in 10 public schools through out Dubai with the aim of combining fun with learning.

Dr Abdulla Al Karam, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General of KHDA said:

"This is the first time that Multaqa Al Marefa takes place and it has achieved its objectives. The summer camp activities succeeded in developing and enhancing the skills of the students in several fields - education, sports, and culture. The activities also developed skills and talents among students such as leadership and national identity."

Dr Al Karam added that KHDA has plans to further develop the campaign activities and increase participation for the next year. There will be immense benefit for the students next year.

Fatma Al Marri said, "More than 4000 students participated in Multaqa Al Marefa and they benefited from the several activities that increased their awareness about several social issues, mainly the issue of national identity that is now one of the priorities of leaders of UAE."

She added that the benefit of such activities would continue during the academic year, as there are plans to keep some activities going during the year, helping students to increase their knowledge about IT, English language, Math, and Culture.

Multaqa Al Marefa had several programs designed to cater to different age groups. Students aged 8 to 10 were based in the centers and focused on activities such as diving, swimming, shooting, Quran learning sessions and some field trips.

A work placement program gave students an opportunity to experience having a job for a certain period of time. KHDA agreements with Dubai courts, Al Ittihad Co-operative and The General Pension & Social Security Authority (GPSSA) allowed for students to be trained on their premises.

The student leadership program focused on training students who are capable of handling responsibility to become future leaders.

The committee had also organized an educational trip for 30 students to Mauritius islands, where they participated in humanitarian activities and learned about leadership skills.

Another program focused on informing parents about what their children are studying and helping students to focus more on the learning as they have their parents around to support them.

A group of students were flown to England to learn English and IT in coordination with the University of Northampton.

The organizing committee honored the three centers that hosted the summer activities i.e. Al Safa, Al Manara, and Al Ma'aref. The schools that held the activities are Al Nukhba Model School, Rashid Bin Saeed, Jumeirah Model School, Al Qeyam, Nad Al Hamar, Khadeeja and Al Ibdaa Model School.

The committee also honored the participating and sponsoring companies as well as the media that covered the campaign.