Some UAE schools to get new Arabic programme: What parents need to know

Ras Al Khaimah: A new Arabic programme will be introduced across private schools in Ras Al Khaimah from September 2026.

Called IQRA, the Arabic word for "read,” the programme was developed by the Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi Foundation for Policy Research and has been independently shown to deliver significant reading gains for young learners in the emirate.

A rigorous independent evaluation found that children in IQRA classrooms gained the equivalent of an additional 25% of a school year in reading progress compared with peers following the standard Arabic curriculum, the foundation announced on Thursday.

The trial, conducted by J-PAL MENA, the regional office of the Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab, covered 83 classrooms across 26 schools in Ras Al Khaimah during the 2024–2025 academic year, making it one of the largest studies of its kind for early Arabic literacy in the UAE.

Students in IQRA classrooms made measurable gains in letter identification, word reading, non-word decoding, and oral reading fluency. The strongest results came in word reading, which moved the median student from the 50th to the 58th percentile. This foundational skill underpins all future academic learning. Overall literacy gains moved the median student from the 50th to the 54th percentile.

Importantly, the gains applied to both native and non-native Arabic speakers.

Bridging the language gap

A core challenge in Arabic education is diglossia: the gap between the everyday Arabic children speak at home and the Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) used in textbooks and classrooms.

For many young learners, reading Arabic at school means simultaneously mastering new letters, new sounds, new vocabulary, and a more formal version of the language they already know.

IQRA was designed specifically to address this. Developed with Dr Helen Abadzi, a cognitive psychologist and education specialist, the programme breaks reading instruction into structured, manageable steps. It prioritises phonics, letter recognition, decoding, and fluency before moving on to more complex tasks.

Dr Natasha Ridge, Executive Director of the Al Qasimi Foundation, said weak Arabic reading outcomes had too often been misread as a problem with the language itself. "IQRA shows that this is not the case. When Arabic is taught in a way that reflects how children actually learn to read, progress can be rapid, measurable, and achievable within existing school systems."

Designed for schools as they are

One of the programme's most practical features is that it does not require extra resources or time. In 21 of the 26 schools involved in the trial, IQRA was delivered entirely within the regular timetable, with teachers needing only a few days of training to get started.

Lessons use structured workbooks with large fonts, carefully sequenced letter instruction, and techniques including paired reading, echo reading, and choral reading. All these have been designed to build fluency and confidence step by step.

Hanadi Mohammed, Education and Community Development Manager at the Al Qasimi Foundation, said the programme was grounded in a simple but important insight. "Arabic is not a difficult language if it is taught in the right way. IQRA gives teachers a clear, structured approach that helps children focus first on the essential skills of reading."

Who the programme is for

IQRA is designed for children from KG1 to Grade 1. It aligns with the UAE Ministry of Education's Arabic curriculum and is intended to strengthen, not replace, existing Arabic instruction.

Nayera Adly Husseiny, Lead of Egypt Impact Lab at J-PAL MENA, said the evaluation showed the programme changed classroom practice in ways that translated into real learning gains.

"One of the most important lessons from IQRA is that improving learning is not only about adding more resources or technology. Pedagogy matters. How children are taught can make a significant difference."

Beyond Ras Al Khaimah

IQRA has also been trialled in classrooms in Morocco, Egypt, and Jordan, and has shown early promise for older students experiencing reading difficulties, positioning it as a potential regional model for Arabic literacy improvement.

Dr Ridge said early reading fluency was not just an education issue. "If children struggle to read fluently in the early years, the consequences follow them throughout their schooling. IQRA gives us a way to intervene early, effectively, and at scale."