UAE Ministry Of Education Confirms Full Preparedness For 2024-2025 Academic Year

The UAE Ministry of Education (MoE) has confirmed its readiness for the 2024-2025 academic year. Public schools are set to welcome students back on Monday, 26th August 2024. This follows extensive efforts by MoE teams to ensure a smooth start to the new school year.

Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of Education, highlighted proactive planning before the last academic year ended. These plans were developed with relevant entities to enhance school environments, upskill educators, and improve infrastructure and support services.

Al Amiri announced comprehensive updates to student assessment policies across all educational levels. These updates are based on best practices and aim to improve educational outcomes in line with UAE leadership's goals. Changes include adjustments to term weightings and percentages for formative and central assessments.

The evaluation weightings for Cycles 2 and 3 have been modified: 35 percent for the first term, 30 percent for the second term, and 35 percent for the third term. These adjustments reflect the number of school days and expected outcomes for each term.

For Cycles 2 and 3 students, formative assessment now accounts for 40 percent, while central assessments at the end of each term make up 60 percent. This change is based on an analysis showing the importance of continuous assessment throughout the year.

Mohammed Al Qasim noted that a special committee was formed in January to oversee operations related to the new academic year. Engineers and specialists supervised school maintenance to ensure high standards of readiness, providing a safe environment for students and educators.

The Ministry completed maintenance operations for 311 schools, including building upgrades and quality control of infrastructure. Support services included printing approximately 10 million textbooks and converting over 3 million books into digital formats.

Additionally, thorough maintenance was conducted on all school buses in collaboration with service providers. Over 5,000 school buses are available this year, ensuring adherence to safety standards and optimised transportation routes for students' daily commutes.

National Back-to-School Campaign

The Ministry launched a national back-to-school campaign titled ‘From Student to Leader.’ This campaign aims to foster community-wide involvement in supporting students and developing future leaders. It focuses on four key pillars: the educational system, teachers, parents, and students.

Al Amiri also mentioned that due to the positive impact of the Freejna School project since its launch last May, it will be expanded to include more schools. Agreements will be signed with local partners to develop more sports, scientific, and cultural activities within this programme.

Focus on Student Wellbeing

The MoE is conducting its largest field survey in the educational sector aimed at improving student wellbeing. A comprehensive roster of curricular and extracurricular programmes is being designed with over 30 projects planned for the upcoming academic year to boost cognitive, cultural, and social skills.

This roster includes initiatives designed to create a supportive environment for talented students. The Ministry aims to establish a strategic framework through these efforts.

The announcement was made during a press briefing organised by the Ministry in collaboration with the UAE Government Media Office. Attendees included Sarah Al Amiri; Mohammed Al Qasim; Sulaiman Al Kaabi; Dr Omar Al Dhaheri; and local media representatives.

The Ministry has opened 25 schools: 12 new ones and 13 reopening after comprehensive maintenance. Additionally, they will allocate laptops to Grade 5 and Grade 9 students as part of their digital resource support efforts in schools.

This detailed preparation ensures that public schools are ready for a successful start to the new academic year on Monday, 26th August 2024.

With inputs from WAM