Public schools in Sharjah will follow reduced school hours by about 80 minutes from June to help children avoid the summer heat, Sharjah Educational Zone officials said. “From June 1, the public schools will shorten each class by five minutes and cancel off the morning assembly to reduce the school hours by a total of about 80 minutes every day,” Mona Shuhail, Deputy Director of the Sharjah Educational Zone, told Gulf News Sunday. The decision has been taken following concerns over the health of children with temperature increasing outdoors, she said. The education zone discussed the idea with school principals and senior education officials before seeking the approval of the ministry of education and finalising the decision. Most public schools have seven to eight classes, with each class of duration of about 50 minutes. The schools are already working on making adjustments to the timetable to incorporate the reduced timings, Shuhail said. “We are getting cases of children being affected by heat every day. Two children were taken to the clinic today [Sunday] too,” a school principal said, welcoming the decision. Chances of dehydration, fainting and nose-bleeding are high with the high temperatures especially for smaller children, she added. From / Gulf News