Education prohibits “generative artificial intelligence” for students under 13 years of age

The Ministry of Education revealed the prohibited uses of generative artificial intelligence in schools, such as the “Chat GBT” application, as part of a set of tight controls that regulate the use of these tools within classrooms, stressing that any use outside the approved frameworks is a practice that requires accountability in accordance with the applicable regulations, in order to establish academic integrity, protect students, and ensure a safe and disciplined educational environment.

In detail, the Ministry confirmed, through the Guide to the Safe and Responsible Use of Artificial Intelligence in Classrooms 2026, the details of which were reviewed by Emirates Today, that it prohibits the use of generative artificial intelligence tools on students under the age of 13 or those enrolled in grades lower than the seventh, in compliance with the approved age controls, and in order to protect early age groups from any inappropriate educational or behavioral effects.

Academic integrity

With regard to academic integrity, the Ministry stressed the prevention of any practices that violate the principle of authenticity in learning, most notably presenting assignments, projects or reports completed by generative artificial intelligence as personal works without explicit disclosure or prior approval from the teacher.

It is also prohibited to use these tools during official tests and assessments, or to copy and rephrase their outputs 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.

Human supervision

Regarding supervision, the Ministry stressed that the use of generative artificial intelligence tools is not permitted in any educational environment that lacks direct human supervision or clear guidance from the teacher. It also prohibits students and teachers alike from relying on automatically generated content without verifying its accuracy and suitability to the approved educational curricula and objectives, in a way that guarantees the quality and safety of educational outcomes.

The Ministry warned against producing or circulating any inappropriate content using artificial intelligence, stressing that this includes anything that conflicts with the religious, national, or cultural values ​​of the state, or includes inappropriate materials, scenes of violence, psychologically shocking content, hate speech and discrimination, or misleading information and rumors that harm the educational process.

The ban extends to any content that encourages illegal or immoral behavior, including cyberbullying or self-harm, as well as content produced without a clear educational purpose or without prior educational supervision.

Privacy protection

With regard to protecting privacy and intellectual property, the Ministry stressed the prohibition of entering or uploading any personal data related to students, teachers, or parents to artificial intelligence tools, including names, images, audio or video clips, and identity and communication data.

The Ministry stressed the prohibition of circulating protected works without the permission of their owners, creating fake content using deepfake or impersonation techniques, collecting sensitive information about others and publishing it, accessing confidential school materials, or recording and transcribing classroom interactions without the explicit consent of all concerned parties.

Pads not included

At the conclusion of the controls, the Ministry confirmed the complete prohibition of the use of any generative artificial intelligence tools that are not officially approved within classrooms, including accessing platforms that are not included in the approved lists, circumventing schools’ technical systems such as firewalls or using virtual private networks (VPN), or creating accounts for students on unauthorized external services, especially those that require entering personal data.

The Ministry stressed that adherence to these controls represents an essential foundation for ensuring the safe and responsible use of artificial intelligence in education, in a way that enhances the quality of learning and preserves the rights of students, while at the same time keeping pace with the state’s trends towards innovation within a clear ethical and educational framework.

The Ministry explained that employing these technologies must remain a supportive tool for the educational process, not a substitute for the human role of the teacher nor the authentic cognitive effort of the student, stressing that adherence to these controls comes in line with the cultural values ​​of the United Arab Emirates, the legislation regulating education, and the approved student conduct regulations.