Different vacation dates causing stress and spoiling travel plans of families
Published: 24 June 2024
NT Bureau
Doha
Several parents have called for unifying vacation dates at public and private schools and universities in the country as it would help them plan their vacation travel and will also contribute to strengthening family ties, Al Sharq reports.
Talking to the newspaper, they also stressed the importance of unifying vacations from an educational viewpoint, as this will help improve students’ academic performance and reduce their stress and anxiety.
Parents pointed to a number of negative aspects of varying vacation dates, as they face difficulty in planning travel and faces the separation of family members due to different vacation dates.
Several families have students studying at different grade levels Dr. Fahd Al Nuaimi told Al Sharq that the difference in dates for end-of-year vacations between public and private schools, as well as universities, confuses many families, due to the inability to determine the date of summer vacation and plan travel or spend the vacation.
“Spending more time with family members increases bonding and raises the level of psychological health, and teenagers travelling with their parents enhances their psychological and social health. Unifying vacations reduces the frequency of travel for parents in one summer, which saves expenses and reduces fatigue,” Al Nuaimi said.
Rashid Al-Buainain, a parent, said that there is a discrepancy between the end-of-year vacations between universities. For example, Qatar University has a different academic calendar than some universities in the country. Regarding schools, there are some foreign, international and private schools that begin their summer vacation in the month of May, while government schools may begin in June.
“There are people who cancelled the idea of travelling abroad or performing Umrah because not all of the children were free, while this conflict spoiled the vacation and enjoyment of it. The conflict between vacations between different schools is a very bad thing that wastes vacation for students and the entire family,” Khaled Fakhro.
