UAE cancels homework for KG to Grade 2 students in public schools, reveals minister

The Ministry of Education (MoE) has cancelled school homework for students from kindergarten to second grade, alongside working on reorganising the use of technology in the educational process to ensure its more effective deployment and to achieve real value for both students and teachers, according to what Sarah Al Amiri, MoE minister, announced during the ministry's media briefing on Wednesday.

"We do not lack technology, and we want to use it more intelligently and in places where it achieves real value for the student and the teacher," Al Amiri affirmed.

She also indicated that MoE will work during the new academic year on developing an integrated policy to regulate the use of devices in the educational process.

MoE will also work on evaluating 100% of public schools, aiming to identify strengths, improvement priorities, and the type of support each school needs, Al Amiri stated, emphasising that educational development does not happen with a single decision nor is it achieved all at once, but rather through gradual and deliberate change which benefits from experience and application.

Al Amiri pointed out that the UAE's schools are preparing to receive more than 1.277 million students in more than 1,180 public and private schools, while public schools are witnessing the opening of 11 new schools and educational complexes, and that public schools will receive more than 26,700 new students, while more than 5,810 school buses have been prepared, and more than 8 million textbooks have been distributed to public schools, alongside the launch of more than 80 training programmes for educational staff.

Al Amiri affirmed that during the new academic year, MoE will expand the scope of the second phase of the fundamental Arabic language project, stressing that the Arabic language represents an "educational priority" and that work is ongoing to consolidate it in schools by all means.

Students in the same grade may differ in their levels and the support they need, Al Amiri pointed out, noting that a student who needs support should receive it early, while an advanced student should be given the opportunity to continue his development.

Al Amiri ended her statement affirming that MoE is working on building more accurate mechanisms to measure achievement levels and establish a clear baseline through basic and diagnostic assessments. She emphasised that the ministry does not want an increase in tests just for the sake of measurement, but rather wants impactful measurement which helps the teacher make better decisions regarding student learning.