Abu Dhabi: The Ministry of Education (MoE) has announced an update to the educational streams for Cycle 3 students in public schools and private schools following the Ministry's curriculum, set to begin in the academic year 2025-2026.
According to Emirates News Agency, this latest update was introduced after in-depth field surveys involving subject specialists in the educational field and parents, highlighting student trends from recent years. The announcement was made during a media briefing at MoE's headquarters in Abu Dhabi, attended by Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of Education, Mohammed Al-Qasim, Undersecretary of MoE, other Ministry officials, and national media representatives.
The MoE has redesigned the educational streams to align with students' future aspirations, support their higher education journeys, and enhance their ability to keep pace with the evolving labour market. Curriculum alignment was a key component of the updates, with scientific subjects foundational to the general stream to refine student skills and talents. The advanced stream will focus on in-depth scientific subjects to prepare students for science-related university majors.
It was confirmed that these updates will not impact the academic plans of current Grade 11 and Grade 12 students. Grade 12 students in the general stream may replace physics with alternative subjects outlined in the Ministry's guidance manual. The importance of Grade 8 students choosing their stream in line with their university aspirations was emphasised, with a mechanism and conditions set for registration in the advanced stream.
The advanced stream will prepare students for university studies in fields such as sciences, engineering, medicine, and pharmacy. The general stream will guide students towards specialisations like humanities and literature, business administration, law, arts, social sciences, and police sciences.
These updates were introduced following consultations with several higher education institutions across the UAE to ensure a seamless transition from general education to university and the labour market. MoE has issued guidelines within the academic framework to support educators in helping students build their academic plans and choose pathways matching their career ambitions. The updates also ensure alignment with admission criteria of higher education institutions.
A detailed guide has been published for students and parents, explaining the updates and highlighting the role of school counsellors in offering guidance and support throughout students' academic journeys.