Dubai: A private school in Dubai has decided to postpone its re-opening because of the swine flu scare.

The two campuses of Al Mawakeb school in Al Garhoud and Al Barsha will start classes for children from kindergarten 1 to Grade 4 from September 27. The school was slated to open on September 10. However, pupils from Grade 5 and above will start the year on the scheduled date.

The school maintains that the decision to postpone the academic year for children up to Grade 4 was taken due to the fear that they might easily contract the virus.

"We are concerned that smaller children are more susceptible to infection. Older pupils have better immune systems. That is why we decided to delay the re-opening for the primary section alone," said an official.

However, parents who spoke to Gulf News said they are not happy with the decision.

"My daughter, who is in Grade 4, was due to return to school on September 8. I had notification from the school last Thursday, that "because of H1N1" the school is remaining closed for KG1 to Grade 4 until September 27. This really does not make sense - there has been no order issued by the Ministry of Education.

"I think this just comes down to lazy teachers," said a parent who does not want to be named.

Another parent who also spoke on condition of anonymity said her son who is in Grade 3 has been out of school for four months now as their summer holidays started on May 31.

"I think it does not make sense to keep children at home this long. When they get back to school, they might have completely lost touch with the syllabus. The school should instead take preventive measures like screening the pupils or making vaccinations compulsory," said the parent.

Most of the private schools said they had yet to receive any directive from the Ministry of Education regarding the issue of swine flu precautions. Many have set up emergency committees and medical teams in the event of any contingency.