No Homework for Younger UAE Students as Screen Cuts Reach Grade 6
If your children attend public schools or private schools managed by the Ministry of Education, their school bags will look a bit lighter when the new academic year begins on August 31, 2026.
Fewer Worksheets and Screens When Term Starts Monday
The Ministry of Education has officially scrapped homework for all students in Kindergarten 1, Kindergarten 2, Grade 1, and Grade 2. Minister of Education Sarah Al Amiri announced the decision at a press conference in Dubai, explaining that nightly worksheets for young learners are being replaced with daily home reading focused on early literacy, language, and thinking skills.
For older children, the shift focuses on classroom screens. Starting this term, an initiative to cut device use during instruction is expanding to cover every Grade 6 student in public schools across four core subjects: Arabic, English, Mathematics, and Science. This builds on an existing policy where public school students from Kindergarten to Grade 4 do not use screens in class, except for designated digital skills lessons.
The changes follow a Ministry of Education study involving 2,500 students across nine public schools. That trial compared traditional book-and-paper classrooms against screen-based lessons, finding that borderline students nearly doubled their academic attainment when devices were removed. Ministry officials also noted calmer classrooms, better student focus, and stronger peer relationships without screens. Computer science and artificial intelligence classes will continue to use digital tools where appropriate.
These adjustments arrive alongside broader 2026, 2027 updates under the National Education Charter, including a 50-50 assessment model combining centralised and school-based tests for Grades 9 through 12 in Group A subjects, alongside a new Project-Based Learning model launching in Grade 7.
