Administrative Resolution No. (48)
of 2025
Concerning the
Teaching of Arabic in Early Childhood[1]
ــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــ.
The
Director General of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority in Dubai,
After perusal of:
Federal Law by Decree No. (51) of 2022 Regulating Nursery
Schools;
Law No. (2) of 2021 Concerning the Knowledge and Human
Development Authority in Dubai;
Executive Council Resolution No. (2) of 2017 Regulating
Private Schools in the Emirate of Dubai;
Executive Council Resolution No. (35) of 2020 Regulating
Early Childhood Centres in the Emirate of Dubai and its amendments;
Executive Council Resolution No. (17) of 2025 Approving the
Organisational Structure of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority in
Dubai; and
The Policy on Arabic Language Provision in Early Childhood
Education, approved by the Executive Council of the Emirate of Dubai,
Does
hereby issue this Resolution.
The following words and
expressions, wherever mentioned in this Resolution, will have the meaning
indicated opposite each of them unless the context implies otherwise:
|
UAE: |
The United Arab Emirates. |
|
Emirate: |
The Emirate of Dubai. |
|
KHDA: |
The Knowledge and Human Development Authority in
Dubai. |
|
EQACA: |
The Education Quality Assurance and Compliance
Agency of the KHDA. |
|
Early Childhood: |
A key stage of Child development and growth, which
covers the period from birth to the age of six (6) years. |
|
ECC: |
An Early Childhood Centre regulated under the
above-mentioned Executive Council Resolution No. (35) of 2020. |
|
Private School: |
A non-governmental school authorised by the KHDA to
provide Early Childhood Care and Education. |
|
Educational Institution: |
This includes a Private School and an ECC. |
|
Curriculum: |
The programme
of study
implemented by an Educational Institution and approved by the KHDA, which
satisfies the conditions and requirements prescribed by the above-mentioned
Executive Council Resolution No. (2) of 2017 or Executive Council Resolution
No. (35) of 2020, and the resolutions issued in pursuance thereof, as the
case may be. |
|
Child: |
A student enrolled in an Educational Institution. |
|
Guide: |
The Policy Guide on Arabic Language Provision in Early
Childhood Education, approved by the KHDA. |
The provisions of this Resolution
apply to all Educational Institutions authorised by the KHDA to provide Early
Childhood Care and Education.
Educational Institutions
must teach Arabic and incorporate it into their Curricula for both Arabic-speaking and
non-Arabic-speaking Children. This subject must be introduced according to the
stages and technical standards set out in Articles (4) and (5) of this
Resolution.
a.
Arabic
language instruction will be provided in an Educational Institution in the
following stages:
1.
First Stage: Children from the age
of four (4) to six (6);
2.
Second Stage: Children from the age
of three (3) to four (4); and
3.
Third Stage: Children under the age
of three (3).
b.
The
KHDA
must notify Educational Institutions of the commencement date of each of the
stages referred to in paragraph (a) of this Article.
In providing Arabic instruction, an Educational Institution must observe the following technical standards:
1. Curriculum:
a.
The Arabic Curriculum and assessment
methods adopted by the Educational Institution must be aligned with the Guide
and educational policies issued by the competent entities in the UAE.
b.
The Educational Institution must
design its Arabic Curriculum based on the demographic composition of its
enrolled Children, taking into account the views of Parents or guardians, as
well as the individual differences and special educational needs of the
Children.
c.
Arabic must be taught at the
Educational Institution through play-based, inquiry-led, and integrative
activities, while promoting Emirati values, identity, and culture.
d.
Children's attainment and progress
in learning Arabic must be assessed by the Educational Institution in
accordance with the periodic assessment model approved by the KHDA.
2. Ratio of Arabic Teachers to Children
and General Qualifications:
a. A
sufficient number of Arabic teachers with appropriate professional
qualifications and experience must be appointed by the Educational Institution,
in line with the numbers and technical requirements specified in the Guide.
b. An
Arabic-speaking teacher must be assigned to deliver at least one
third of the total weekly instructional hours in the Educational Institution
and must, on a daily basis, participate in Child-led activities, large group
sessions, or small group activities under his supervision.
c. The
maximum number of Children permitted per Arabic class in each age group must
align with the relevant instructions issued by the KHDA.
d. The
timetable of Arabic teachers must be planned to ensure their presence with
various year groups at different times of the day, enabling the integration of
Arabic instruction into daily routines, such as mealtimes, playtime, and
structured learning activities; and ensuring coordination with other teachers
to support instructional coherence.
e. Arabic
teachers must demonstrate the ability to interact effectively with Children,
possess strong communication skills, and have sound knowledge and understanding
of Modern Standard Arabic, including grammar and linguistic rules.
f.
Arabic teachers must participate in
training and professional development programmes for not less than twenty (20)
hours annually, focusing on methods of teaching Arabic to Children through
play-based and inquiry-led activities.
g. Arabic
teachers must meet all recruitment requirements and conditions applicable to
teaching staff in Educational Institutions, as prescribed by the relevant legislation
applicable to the KHDA.
3. Transparency in Arabic
Instruction:
a.
Parents or guardians must be
informed of the Educational Institution's Arabic instruction plan and of their Child’s
progress reports, either through contractual documents or through the
Educational Institution’s approved communication channels.
b.
Tools and resources must be proposed
to assist Parents or guardians in supporting and monitoring their Children’s
language development at home, as well as activities to enhance their Arabic
skills.
c.
Parents or guardians must be
informed of the services and activities related to Arabic instruction that are provided
by the Educational Institution.
a.
The EQACA will monitor and evaluate the
impact of the implementation of this Resolution on Educational Institutions.
It will prepare performance reports on the teaching of Arabic in these
institutions. Such reports must include the following:
1.
the ratio of Arabic teachers to the
Children enrolled in the Educational Institution;
2.
the distribution of Arabic teachers
across year groups;
3.
the quality and outcomes of Arabic
instruction within the Educational Institution, and the effectiveness of the teaching
methodologies employed in providing Arabic instruction;
4.
the level of compliance
by the Educational Institution with the regulations and policies adopted by
the KHDA and other concerned entities in the UAE, as well as with the
technical standards stipulated in Article (5) of this Resolution; and
5.
the challenges and obstacles
encountered by the Educational Institution in delivering Arabic instruction.
b.
At the end of each School Year, the Chief Executive Officer of
the EQACA will submit to the Director General of the KHDA the
performance reports referred to in paragraph (a) of this Article, along with
any recommendations or proposals for the development of the provision of
Arabic instruction in Educational Institutions.
An Educational Institution operating by
the effective
date of this Resolution must, within a period not exceeding three (3) years
from the following dates, ensure that its School Staff comply with the Guide, and
hold the qualifications required to teach Arabic as stipulated therein:
1.
1 September 2025, in respect of
Educational Institutions whose School Year commences in September; and
2.
1
April 2026, in respect of Educational Institutions whose School Year commences
in April.
The Chief Executive
Officer of the EQACA will issue the instructions required for the
implementation of the provisions of this Resolution.
This Resolution will be
published in the Official Gazette and will come into force on the day on which
it is published.
Aisha Abdulla Miran
Director General
Knowledge and Human Development Authority
Issued in
Dubai on 23 July 2025
Corresponding
to 28 Muharram 1447 A.H.
©2025 The Supreme Legislation Committee in the
Emirate of Dubai
[1]Every effort has been made to produce an
accurate and complete English version of this legislation. However, for the
purpose of its interpretation and application, reference must be made to the
original Arabic text. In case of conflict, the Arabic text will prevail.