Ministry of Education approves first-term final exam schedule for UAE schools

Dubai: The UAE Ministry of Education has approved the final exam schedule for the first academic term of the 2025-2026 school year for grades three through twelve in public and private schools following the ministry’s curriculum.

The exams for Group A subjects, which include the core academic disciplines, will begin on Thursday, November 20, and continue until December 4, with a break during the Eid Al Etihad celebrations. 

Schools must finalise the assessment records for Group B subjects by November 14, ahead of the written exams.

The ministry issued a set of detailed guidelines covering exam formats, electronic device use, supervision procedures, and calculator regulations.

Students in grades three and four will take paper-based exams in person, as will grade five students across all tracks in public and private schools. For grade twelve, English language exams will be conducted electronically.

Teachers are prohibited from reading exam questions aloud during tests, except for grade three, where teachers may read the questions only, not the answers, to ensure fairness.

Students must bring their own laptops for electronic exams, and assessments for grades six through twelve will be either paper-based or electronic, depending on the subject and educational track.

Grade twelve students enrolled in the general and advanced tracks in private schools will take their exams in public school facilities under the supervision of the School Operations Department.

Schools are required to provide printed copies of the periodic table to students during the chemistry exam, while students in the elite track must use the electronic version available on the Swift Assess platform within the Ministry’s Education Media Portal.

The ministry also issued specific guidelines for calculator use based on the subject and educational track:

• In science subjects (physics, chemistry, biology, and health sciences), students from grades six to twelve may use scientific calculators (P:SC) across all tracks.

• In mathematics, calculator permissions vary:

  • In the general and advanced tracks, calculators are not allowed for grades six to nine but are permitted for higher grades.

  • In the elite track, both scientific and graphical calculators (P:SC/GC) are allowed.

  • In the applied track, students must use graphical calculators (R:GC).

The ministry stressed that all schools must strictly adhere to the approved instructions without modification. 

Exams will be conducted under the direct supervision of the School Operations Department to ensure uniform application of standards across all educational institutions.

Schools were also advised to enforce restrictions on electronic devices, allowing only permitted tools and prohibiting any unauthorized smart devices to preserve exam integrity.

Grade twelve students across all streams, general, advanced, elite, and applied, will begin exams on November 20 with physics, while applied track students will sit for applied science. 

On the following day, November 21, applied track students will take applied mathematics, while other tracks will complete chemistry exams.

Students will sit for mathematics on November 24, English on November 25, followed by Arabic, Islamic education, and biology, concluding with social studies on December 4.