"UAE Education Day" ..a national station in the process of transforming the educational system

Abu Dhabi, February 27 / WAM / The UAE Education Day, which falls on the twenty-eighth of February every year, represents a renewed national milestone that confirms the pivotal position of education in the UAE’s journey, and embodies its firm belief that the human being is the true wealth and the basis of sustainable development.

The choice of this date came to commemorate the graduation of the first class of teachers from the United Arab Emirates University in 1982, as a message of loyalty to the teacher, and to confirm that the renaissance, the foundations of which were laid by the founding father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, may God have mercy on him, was based on building man and empowering him with education and knowledge.

This day is a national occasion to review the most prominent developments witnessed in the education sector, highlight the impact of policies and initiatives on the ground, and renew the commitment to continue developing an educational system with a solid identity, integrated roles, and keeping pace with the country’s future ambitions.

In conjunction with this year’s celebration, the Education, Human Development and Society Council launched the visual identity for the Emirati Education Day, embodying its national status and consolidating its message of enhancing the priority of education in the country’s journey.

The identity was designed to be a unified national platform that reflects the importance of education and its pivotal role in building humanity, and enhances the concept of national participation by activating schools, institutions, families and society within an integrated visual framework that establishes the presence of the event at the state level.

The identity is also inspired by the symbolism of this historic day, and links the country’s educational legacy with its future aspirations, to form a contemporary visual expression that combines authenticity and ambition, and reflects the status of education as a fundamental lever for sustainable national development.

Since Emirates Education Day 2025, the pace of developments in the education sector has accelerated within a comprehensive qualitative transformation path, embodied in an integrated package of legislation, initiatives and projects that affected the various components of the educational system, including consolidating legislative governance, developing curricula and future skills, enhancing the quality of assessment and transparency, supporting infrastructure, nurturing talent, empowering teachers, and linking education to the labor market, in an integrated path that reflects the maturity of the system and the acceleration of the pace of development.

The state strengthened the legislative framework regulating the sector by issuing the first federal decree law regarding the governance of the national educational curriculum, ensuring that curriculum development is consistent with higher national trends. The Higher Education and Scientific Research Law was also issued in a step that enhances the quality of the sector, regulates its paths, and keeps pace with global changes.

Governance efforts included issuing a guide to school attendance and absence to enhance discipline, amending the admission age for students in kindergarten and first grade to take developmental aspects into account, in addition to adopting an output-based evaluation framework for higher education institutions that focuses on graduates’ competency and readiness for the labor market.

A national strategy has also been developed to apply artificial intelligence tools and technologies in the education sector, in a way that enhances the efficiency of educational and administrative processes, supports data-based decision-making, and improves the learning and teaching experience within a disciplined framework that takes into account ethical and regulatory aspects.

A qualitative development was made in the curricula, represented by the introduction of artificial intelligence from kindergarten to the twelfth grade, making the UAE the first in the world to include this specialty in an integrated manner across the various educational levels. Educational paths in government schools have also been updated to enhance flexibility and meet future requirements.

At the same time, the value dimension was strengthened by intensifying the teaching of the Arabic language and Islamic education in the early childhood stages, and launching the new visual identity of the government education sector that reflects national values ​​and unifies institutional discourse.

In the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the government “Tomorrow’s Nurseries” project expanded to provide high-quality education focusing on national identity and developing Arabic language skills, in parallel with the launch of the “Emirati Class” program as a dedicated track available in all nurseries, which enhances the quality of early education and consolidates the cognitive and value foundations from childhood.

The evaluation system moved to a more developed stage, implementing a project-based learning and evaluation system, giving students space to highlight their analytical and creative skills. Central exams were also canceled at the end of the second semester in government schools to support deep cognitive understanding, and national exams witnessed comprehensive development to become a supportive tool for continuous improvement.

In the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, the Developmental Screening (ASQ) program was implemented in government and private nurseries to early detect cases that need specialized support. School performance dashboards were also launched, displaying the “Irtiqaa” quality results and the national identity mark, which enhances transparency and strengthens the partnership with parents.

Six new educational complexes and two schools were opened within the government education sector according to modern standards that support stimulating learning environments, and the country hosted the largest edition of the 57th International Chemistry Olympiad, in confirmation of its international scientific presence.

Exhibitions and dialogue sessions were intensified between schools and parents in public and private education to enhance the role of the family as an essential partner in the educational system, in a way that supports integration between home and school and enhances the psychological and social stability of students.

The state launched the National Schools Program for Sports Talents and established a national structure for school sports, organizing specialized summer and winter tournaments and camps to develop physical and mental skills. The Dubai Student Council was also launched to enable students to participate in decision-making, thus enhancing the spirit of leadership, responsibility and belonging.

The state also focused on supporting educational competencies by launching a career advancement program for teachers in public schools, organizing the largest series of exhibitions to attract educational competencies, in addition to updating professional development programs in public and private schools.

In a qualitative initiative in Dubai, the “Qom for the Teacher” initiative was launched, which provides golden residency for distinguished educational leaders in private schools, reflecting the state’s appreciation for the role of the teacher and his pivotal position in the quality of education.

The country enhanced students’ readiness for professional life by launching an integrated national system for practical training for university students, developing the “Emirates Skills” platform, and redesigning the student’s journey from general education to higher education to ensure compatibility between study paths and the requirements of future specializations. The Emirate of Sharjah has also allocated scholarships for specialized certificates in early childhood and master’s programs in educational leadership, to provide the field with qualified educational leaders.

This comprehensive harvest of developments confirms that the UAE Education Day represents a national station for renewing commitment to the process of developing education, and reviewing the impact of policies and initiatives within a unified vision that puts people at the heart of its priorities, and moves the educational system towards greater maturity, sustainability and excellence.

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