War brings Covid memory back as Odia kids in Dubai start online classes

Bhubaneswar: It’s back to the Covid days for 15-year-old Tisya Panigrahi, her younger sister Tvisha (9) and numerous other children like them living in Dubai.

At the Panigrahi household in Dubai’s Al Furjan area, Tvisha (9) is adjusting her monitor as her class starts sharp at 8am, while in another room, her elder sister Tisya is attentively listening to her teacher during her online class.

For many Odia families living in Dubai, school after the spring break did begin but not with the early morning rush or a bus ride, albeit with wifi and passwords because the authorities have opted for online classes as a safety measure amid the ongoing US-Iran turmoil.

“To ensure the safety of students, KHDA confirms the continuation of distance learning across all private educational institutions in Dubai until Friday, April, 3, 2026,” stated a recent post from Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), the educational quality assurance and regulatory authority of the Govt of Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

A timetable for the classes is followed, during which children receive assignments that they had to be completed and uploaded. The timetable is the same as the one followed during physical school attendance, including snacks and lunch breaks of one hour each. “My children are quite attentive. I get to see them only during the breaks when I am working remotely,” said Dubai-based Priyadarshee Panigrahi, who heads MENA operations of an Indian FMCG.

The shifting from physical to online classes has been smooth as Covid has already taught them. Also, schools opt for online classes during heavy rain.

To minimise screen exposure, teachers often take the classes for 20 to 30 minutes, ask children to switch off the screen while completing the assignments, and then again switch it on to upload them. “Children feel confined to home though unlike Covid, children are allowed to play in the apartment blocks. The playtime does take care of their physical fitness,” said Chanchal Patra, whose children are enrolled in the British curriculum.

But parents felt physical classes were better and said children were waiting for the schools to reopen. “They can speak to their friends when they are in school. Now they just have their parents,” said Chanchal, who is currently in Mumbai and has booked tickets for April 5 to fly back to Dubai.