Four nurseries in UAE shut amid health and safety fears

The Ministry of Social Affairs’ child department said the nurseries were closed because they failed to comply with Civil Defence regulations

Four nurseries in the UAE have been shut down in the past six months for not meeting health and safety standards.

The Ministry of Social Affairs’ child department, the body responsible for supervising nurseries across the country, said the nurseries were closed because they failed to comply with Civil Defence regulations.

The nurseries were given 90 days to rectify their inadequacies, as per the law, but failed to do so and were shut down permanently. Mooza Al Shoomi, head of the child department, said the nurseries were unsafe and had to be closed. “We have to be strict with nurseries to ensure the safety of our children, who are at a delicate age,” she said.

The names and locations of the nurseries have not been revealed. Another 38 nurseries were fined during the period for various violations, including having open electricity sockets, leaving sharp tools lying around and enrolling kids who are above the legal age for nurseries.

The ministry recorded 65 violations in the 38 nurseries across the country from January to June this year. Of them, 14 had failed to set up a nurse’s room on their premises – a main requirement by the child department. The ministry also found nine cases of over-age children – aged five and six – enrolled in nurseries. These kids should have been in kindergarten or schools.

Other violations included finding male workers in nurseries, an act prohibited by the ministry. Cramped rooms and too many children in relation to the number of teachers and instructors were among other issues. There are currently 462 nurseries in the UAE, of which 422 are private.

About half of the nurseries are located in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, with the two emirates making up the biggest chunk in which the violations occurred, the ministry said. However, the number of violations reduced by more than a third, about 37 per cent, during the period compared to the first six months of 2013.

That’s the first time a drop has been registered since 2008, Al Shoomi said. During the same period last year, 56 nurseries were fined for 103 violations. But four nurseries were also shut down in the first half of 2013. The ministry this year issued a new rule enabling it to issue fines of up to Dhs10,000 for each offence.

wafa.issa@7days.ae