No homework, less screen time: Which UAE students will benefit from 2026-27 academic year policy changes

Dubai: If your child is starting kindergarten, grade 1 or grade 2 in public schools and private schools managed by the Ministry of Education this year, there will be no homework in their school bag when the new academic year begins on August 31.

The Ministry of Education (MoE) has scrapped homework for these age groups, while a separate move to cut classroom screen time is expanding to all grade 6 students in these schools in the 2026-2027 academic year.

The Minister of Education Sarah Al Amiri announced these major policy changes at a press conference in Dubai on Wednesday.

Behind both changes lies the same reasoning: studies have found that pupils learn better, behave better and get along better with less screen time, while young children in particular need less pressure and more reading at home, not more worksheets.

The changes come amid a wider push to shift UAE classrooms away from rote learning and screen-heavy lessons and towards skills that stick.

Children in kindergarten through grade 2 will no longer be sent home with homework.

In its place, the ministry wants daily home reading, aimed at building early literacy, sharpening language and thinking skills.

“In line with early-childhood developmental needs, this decision optimises classroom learning and restores a healthy balance between school and family life,” the ministry said.

The move is aimed at giving children a head start on a lifelong love of learning, rather than a nightly slog of worksheets.

The ministry has said the move is designed around how young children actually develop and is meant to give families back some breathing room between the classroom and home life.

Education researchers have long argued that heavy homework loads add little value at this age, and can crowd out play, sleep and family time, three things early learners need most.

By replacing worksheets with reading at home, the ministry is betting on a lower-pressure routine that still builds core skills, without the burnout that can turn some five and six-year-olds off learning altogether.

Alongside the homework change, MoE is expanding its digital tools project to cover every grade 6 student in public schools, cutting classroom screen use in Arabic, English, Mathematics and Science.

The initiative aims to balance technology integration with the reinforcement of fundamental skills to enhance academic achievement, critical thinking, cognitive development, educational interaction and discipline, according to the ministry.

This builds on an existing rule: children from kindergarten to grade 4 in public schools already do not use devices in class, barring lessons specifically meant to teach digital skills.

Last year, the ministry ran a study across nine public schools and 2,500 students, comparing classes that used digital tools with classes that stuck to books, notebooks, pen and paper.

According to the ministry, students on the "borderline", those it is most focused on helping close learning gaps, saw their attainment nearly double in the classes without devices.

The ministry also found calmer, more focused classrooms overall, along with stronger friendships and better peer relationships. The ministry has attributed these effects to less time spent on screens.

Officials are clear that the goal is not to abandon technology altogether. Digital tools remain part of computer science and artificial intelligence lessons, and the ministry says it is working through the data step by step to decide where and how devices genuinely help learning, rather than cutting them out wholesale.

Both changes sit within a broader set of reforms for 2026-2027 under the new National Education Charter, including a new 50-50 assessment model combining centralised and school-based tests in Group A subjects for Grades 9 to 12, and a Project-Based Learning model launching in grade 7.

Together, they reflect a system-wide shift the ministry describes as moving from asking "what did you learn" to "how will you apply what you learned."

The Ministry has also kicked off the second phase of the Arabic language skills assessment, which targets 19,000 Grade-1 students across 162 public schools and 11,000 Grade-1 students across 130 private schools to reinforce Arabic language as a core national and educational priority and to support early skill development.