Dubai: Humaid Mohammad Obaid Al Qutami, Minister of Education on Thursday acknowledged that 50 per cent of students failed to attend schools on the first two days of the scholastic year that started on Wednesday.

He warned that the ministry will start working with the UAE Parents Council in order to set up a clear penal structure to be implemented when a student decides to extend the holiday on his or her own without having justifiable reasons.

Al Qutami told Gulf News that students failing to show up on the first two days of the year is unacceptable and would not be tolerated in future. "It is a waste of time, money and efforts and the ministry is keen to rectify this situation in the future," he said.

He said he has requested education departments in different emirates to furnish the ministry with the exact number of students, who attended the first two days of the year and the activities being held in schools for students who show up.

"Based on the report I have re ceived by the end of the day on Thursday, I realised that there was a serious problem in both Dubai and Sharjah that need to be rectified, while schools in remote areas and villages started normal year with almost all their students attending the first and the second school days," Al Qutami said.

He said the ministry is facing a problem in this particular incident as there is no clear penal code to use against students who failed to rejoin their schools on time and the fact that parents might use their worries from swine flu to justify the absence of their children from schools on the first two days.

"What I can say now that actions will be taken by the ministry and its departments in all emirates to make sure that all schools under their jurisdiction open and close as per the calendar set by the educational authorities and not by students or by their parents," he said.

"The first two days are important and precious to educational process like any other day in the year. Both students and parents should change the mindset that gave less importance to the beginning and the end of holidays," he said.

He said swine flu is not a good excuse to stop opening schools and start educational process. "Schools would be closed by the government whenever there is a genuine concern about keeping them open. For the time being and based on our consultation with the ministry of health, I see no reason to extend the holiday. We need to utilise every minute from the school day in order to finish our curriculum as per plans set by the ministry," he said.

The minister said he will call for a meeting soon with the UAE Parents Assocation to discuss the issue of the extended holidays and set practices to enhance discipline and punctuality among students.

Al Qutami said: "We need to see full cooperation from parents in instilling those important values in our students and stop use indefensible reasons to stop the educational process in the country."