Private Schools in Abu Dhabi Face Enrollment Ban

Abu Dhabi: 12 Private Schools Banned from Admitting 11th and 12th Graders

The Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK) in Abu Dhabi has taken stringent measures to curb the inflation of school grades, temporarily prohibiting 12 private schools from admitting new students to the 11th and 12th grades. This decision is part of a comprehensive audit program aimed at improving the quality of education and maintaining the authenticity of graduation certificates.

What is behind the decision?

ADEK has launched a new compliance initiative, with the first phase examining discrepancies between internal grades and external exam results. Alerts from the authority's internal quality assurance system raised suspicions that some schools significantly inflate students' grades upwards—known as grade inflation.

According to the ministry, this practice not only misleads students and parents but also undermines trust in the educational system, while creating distorted competition in university admissions and other academic competitions.

What steps are being taken now?

The 12 affected private schools are required to submit detailed documentation about their 12th-grade students, including:

certificates and grading systems,

evaluation samples,

as well as proof of meeting graduation requirements.

Based on this data, ADEK aims to map out grade inflation patterns, assessment inconsistencies, and cases where reported grades by schools do not align with students' actual performance.

What follows next?

The investigation will extend to 9th, 10th, and 11th grades in the next phase. ADEK aims to identify long-term trends and compare internal grades with the results of external standardized tests. If an institution does not comply, further measures such as mandatory corrective programs can be expected.

Why is this step important?

ADEK has clearly stated: students' qualifications must be based on actual knowledge and performance. Artificially boosted grades not only erode trust in the system but also disadvantage students who achieve results through genuine effort and knowledge.

This measure sends a clear message to all private schools in the UAE: the quality of education and the credibility of assessments cannot be compromised.

(Source of the article: Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK) statement.)