Abu Dhabi mandates 4 hours of weekly Arabic lessons for KG students in private schools

Abu Dhabi’s education authority on Monday announced a new policy requiring kindergartens in private and educational partnership schools to allocate 240 minutes (four hours) per week for Arabic language instruction.

This directive will start from the first semester of the 2025–2026 academic year, the Department of Education and Knowledge (Adek) confirmed.

The directive applies to all early childhood education levels — from pre-kindergarten (first foundation stage) to second kindergarten (first year). The weekly Arabic instruction time will further increase to 300 minutes (five hours) starting in the 2026–2027 school year.

According to Adek, the initiative aims to strengthen Arabic language skills among young learners while fostering cultural identity and a sense of belonging from the earliest years of education.

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The move is part of broader efforts to enhance language acquisition and preserve national heritage through early and consistent exposure to Arabic during formative learning stages.