Students' safety top priority: Sharjah Police announce comprehensive plan for 2026-27 school year

Sharjah Police have announced their readiness for the new 2026-2027 academic year with an integrated traffic, community and media plan involving several departments and in cooperation with strategic partners.

The plan aims to enhance the safety and security of students, celebrate their return to school, ensure the safety of road users and maintain smooth traffic flow around schools.

The announcement was made during a meeting chaired by Major General Ibrahim Mesbah Al Ajel, Director-General of the General Directorate of Comprehensive Police Stations, and attended by Major General Staff Omar Al Ghazal Al Shamsi, Director-General of the General Directorate of Operations and Security Support; Brigadier Faisal bin Nassar, Director-General of the General Directorate of Community Prevention and Protection; and several deputy directors-general and department directors.

The meeting reviewed operational plans and objectives and discussed the level of readiness and coordination among all departments and strategic partners. The aim is to ensure an integrated approach and unified efforts that enhance students' security, safety and wellbeing as they begin the new academic year.

Major General Ibrahim Mesbah Al Ajel stressed that student safety remains a top priority for Sharjah Police. He said the plan is based on proactive coordination and the integration of roles among various departments and partners to meet the requirements of the return to school and provide the highest levels of safety for students, parents and teaching staff.

The plan includes an integrated operational system under which the Traffic and Patrols Directorate will increase patrols at key locations, roads and intersections around schools. It will also regulate vehicle movement during peak hours to reduce congestion and improve traffic flow.

Regarding operational readiness, the Operations Centre will enhance its preparedness by improving the efficiency of its incident-reporting system, monitoring developments on the ground and coordinating directly with relevant teams and authorities. This will help ensure a swift response to incidents and reports received during the back-to-school period.

As part of efforts to enhance school transport safety, the Vehicle and Drivers Licensing Department will step up inspections of school buses to verify their readiness and compliance with security and safety requirements.

This will be accompanied by awareness programmes and initiatives targeting drivers to reinforce compliance with safe transport procedures for students travelling to and from school.

On the community front, the Community Security Department will conduct a series of field visits to schools. These will include welcoming students at the start of the academic year and delivering lectures and awareness programmes that promote safety, positive behaviour, responsibility and cooperation among students.

As part of the media campaign, the Security Media Department will launch the "Safety is our first lesson” campaign under a comprehensive media plan targeting students, parents and road users.

The campaign will feature a variety of awareness content across Sharjah Police's digital platforms, alongside media coverage of related programmes and initiatives. The aim is to broaden the reach of safety messages across different segments of society and raise awareness of safe practices and behaviour throughout the academic year.

The plan also includes strategic partnerships with the Sharjah Private Education Authority through the "Ma'man” service. The service enables school bus drivers and supervisors to send an emergency alert directly to the Operations Centre at the press of a button from inside the bus, while automatically identifying its location.

This allows for a rapid response and the dispatch of the nearest patrol to deal with the situation, further enhancing student safety while travelling to and from school.

WAM