Artificial intelligence is prohibited in schools for students under 13 years of age

The Ministry of Education revealed the inclusion of 25 prohibitions for the use of generative artificial intelligence tools within schools, within the framework of consolidating academic integrity, protecting students, and ensuring a safe and disciplined educational environment.

The necessity of commitment
Through the guide “Safe and Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence in Classrooms 2026,” a copy of which was obtained by Emirates Today, the Ministry stressed the necessity of adhering to these controls, which represent a fundamental pillar for ensuring the safe and responsible use of artificial intelligence in education, so that it remains a supportive tool for the educational process, not a substitute for the role of the teacher or the authentic cognitive effort of the student, and in a manner consistent with the values ​​and legislation regulating education in the country.

Age group
According to Emirates Today’s reading of the guide, the first axis related to the age group included (two prohibited), as the Ministry prohibited the use of artificial intelligence tools for students under 13 years of age, as well as for those enrolled in grades lower than the seventh, in compliance with the approved age controls, and to protect the early age groups from any inappropriate educational or behavioral effects.

Academic integrity
As for the axis of academic integrity (5 prohibitions), I stressed the prohibition of presenting work, projects, or reports completed with artificial intelligence as personal effort without explicit disclosure or prior approval from the teacher.

Tests and evaluations
It prohibited the use of these tools during official tests and assessments, or reformulating their outcomes without showing real personal understanding, in addition to prohibiting total reliance on them in completing educational tasks, or using them for academic cheating or circumventing assessment requirements.

Moderation and content
Regarding supervision and content (9 prohibitions), the Ministry confirmed that it does not allow the use of artificial intelligence tools in any educational environment that lacks direct human supervision. It also prohibited the adoption of machine-generated content without verifying its accuracy and suitability to the approved curricula.

Content production and circulation
It warned against producing or circulating content that conflicts with religious, national or cultural values, or includes inappropriate material, scenes of violence, psychologically shocking content, hate speech and discrimination, misleading information and rumours, as well as any content that encourages illegal or immoral behaviour, including cyberbullying or self-harm, as well as producing content without a clear educational purpose or without prior educational supervision.

Privacy and ownership
Regarding the axis of privacy and intellectual property (6 prohibitions), the Ministry stressed the prohibition of entering or uploading any personal data related to students, teachers, or parents to artificial intelligence tools, and prohibited the circulation of protected works without the permission of their owners, or the creation of fake content using deep fake or impersonation techniques, or the collection and publication of sensitive information about others, or accessing confidential school materials, or recording and transcribing classroom interactions without the explicit consent of all parties concerned.

Unsupported platforms
In the fifth axis, regarding unapproved platforms (3 prohibitions), the Ministry confirmed the complete prohibition of using any generative artificial intelligence tools that are not officially approved within classrooms, or circumventing schools’ technical systems such as bypassing firewalls or using virtual private networks (VPNs). It also prohibited the creation of student accounts on unauthorized external services, especially those that require entering personal data.