Overview
- More than 1.27 million pupils returned to classrooms on Monday, August 31, 2026, as over 1,180 public and private schools across the UAE reopened for the new academic year.
- President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed posted a message congratulating students, parents and teachers and urged pupils to approach learning with optimism, ambition and determination.
- New term policies now in effect include no traditional homework for kindergarten to Grade 2, tighter controls on digital devices for Grade 6 public-school pupils, and expanded Arabic-language assessments.
- Parents are readjusting routines while paediatricians advise that children may feel unusually tired for a few days and recommend 9–12 hours of sleep for younger children, 8–10 hours for teens, healthy breakfasts and regular hydration.
- The Ministry of Interior relaunched Accident Free Day with an online pledge that can remove four black points from a driver’s licence if they comply, and a number of new schools have opened this term following last year’s disruption linked to the Iran war.