How UAE schools work

Updated 29 October 2026

Is Arabic compulsory in UAE schools?

Which UAE subjects your child takes at a British (or any other) private school, by year group, and how they are taught.

The mandatory subjects

The UAE government's official portal says private schools must offer Islamic education, social studies and Arabic as a second language. Who takes which version depends on two things: whether your child is in the Arab or non-Arab group, and whether they are Muslim.

• Arabic. Arab students study Arabic as a first language. Non-Arab students study Arabic as an additional language.
• Islamic Education. For Muslim students, with separate classes for Arab and non-Arab students.
• Social Studies and Moral Education. Arab students take UAE Social Studies and Moral Education. Non-Arab students take one combined subject, Moral, Social and Cultural Studies (MSC).

Schools usually place children in the Arab or non-Arab group by passport. GEMS Winchester School Dubai's policy, for example, teaches Islamic Education in Arabic to students holding an Arab passport and in English to students with a non-Arab passport. Ask your school how it groups students.

Dubai: weekly lessons by year group

KHDA updated its requirements for the 2025-26 academic year. This table shows the minimum number of lessons a week for schools that follow a curriculum other than the UAE Ministry of Education's, such as British, American or IB schools. Each lesson is counted as 40 minutes.

Y2 is Grade 1 and Y13 is Grade 12. Opt. means optional. Schools may make lessons longer or shorter than 40 minutes as long as the total weekly time is met; KHDA advises that no mandatory lesson should be shorter than 25 minutes. Schools following the UAE Ministry of Education curriculum follow the Ministry's own requirements instead. Source: KHDA, mandatory subjects requirements.

In practice, for a non-Arab, non-Muslim child at a British school in Dubai, that means four Arabic lessons and one MSC lesson a week from Year 2 to Year 10. A non-Arab Muslim child also has Islamic Education: three lessons a week in Years 2 to 4, then two a week up to Year 13.

How the subjects are taught in Dubai

• Language of teaching. Arabic as a first language and Islamic Education for Arab students are taught mainly in Standard Arabic. Social Studies for Arab students is mainly in Arabic. For non-Arab students, Islamic Education and MSC are taught in the language of the school's curriculum, which is English at a British school.
• Separate classes. Arab and non-Arab students must be taught in separate classes for Arabic as a first language, Islamic Education and Social Studies.
• Ability groups for Arabic B. Schools may group non-Arab students for Arabic as an additional language by ability, without large age gaps. A child's progress is judged against the number of years they have studied Arabic.
• Moving up a group. On a parent's request, a school may place a non-Arab student in an Arabic as a first language class if its timetable allows.
• Timetabled lessons. All mandatory lessons must be inside the normal school timetable, and teachers of Arabic and Islamic Education must be approved by KHDA.

Arabic in nursery and FS (Dubai)

A KHDA policy announced in February 2025 requires Arabic for children from birth to six in all private schools and early childhood centres in Dubai. It is being phased in from September 2025, starting with children aged four to six, with younger children added in later phases. At least a third of children's instructional time must include the presence of an Arabic teacher, and the approach should be play-based.

Do these subjects affect school ratings?

Yes. School inspections judge students' achievement in Islamic Education (for Muslim students), Arabic and UAE social studies alongside English, maths and science. So a school's inspection report tells you how well it teaches them. See KHDA school ratings explained.