For the purpose of implementing the provisions of this Law, the following terms and expressions shall have the meanings assigned to each of them, unless the context otherwise requires:
State: United Arab Emirates.
Ministry: Ministry of Education.
Minister: Minister of Education.
Council:  Education, Human Development, and Community Council.
Center: National Center for Education Quality established within the Education, Human Development and Community Council.
Local Educational Authority: The local government authority concerned with private education affairs, each within its respective competencies.
National Educational Curriculum: The national educational content approved in accordance with the provisions of this Decree by Law and the legislation in force in the State.
Educational Pathways: The different routes or directions that a student may pursue within the educational system, in accordance with their interests, capabilities, and future aspirations.
Learning Outcomes: The results, knowledge, skills, and values expected to be acquired by a student upon completion of a specific educational stage or course.
Teaching Methods and Methodologies: The approach or method adopted by the teacher in delivering knowledge and developing students’ skills and values.
Educational Institutions: Public and private general education institutions in the State that apply the National Educational Curriculum.
Mandatory Subjects: Subjects that all Educational Institutions and private schools not applying the National Educational Curriculum are required to incorporate and teach within their curricula pursuant to Federal Decree by Law No. (18) of 2020 Regarding Private Education, as amended, or any legislation superseding it.

This Decree by Law aims to achieve the following:
1. Regulating the approval of the elements of the National Educational Curriculum as a binding reference to ensure its consistency and stability, while preserving the necessary flexibility to update it in response to changes and future needs.
2. Establishing a comprehensive legal governance framework regulating the process of designing, approving, implementing, reviewing, and developing the National Educational Curriculum, as well as consultation, piloting, and evaluation mechanisms, and defining roles and responsibilities in a manner that ensures integration, effective coordination, transparency, accountability, and community participation.
3. Enhancing the quality of the content of the National Educational Curriculum in a manner that strengthens the competitiveness of the education sector and enhances students’ readiness for the integration into society and the labor market locally and internationally.

The provisions of this Decree by Law shall apply to the following:
1. All Educational Institutions and all educational stages from kindergarten through Grade Twelve.
2. Private schools not applying the National Educational Curriculum, in respect of teaching the Mandatory Subjects across all educational stages from kindergarten through Grade Twelve.
3. All governmental, private, and non-profit entities, including those operating in free zones, that submit proposals to develop, amend, or update the National Educational Curriculum or any part thereof, in accordance with the provisions of this Decree by Law and its Executive Regulations.

The National Education Charter shall constitute the supreme reference document that defines the national objectives of education in the State, the graduate profile, national identity and societal values, targeted competencies, and general pedagogical principles, and shall guide the design and development of the National Educational Curriculum.

1. The National Educational Curriculum shall be aligned with the National Education Charter.
2. The National Educational Curriculum shall comprise the following components:
    a. National standards and Learning Outcomes and their horizontal and vertical progression;
    b. Principles of the design of the National Educational Curriculum;
    c. Teaching Methods and Methodologies;
    d. Educational Pathways;
    e. Language of instruction;
    f. Learning time / instructional time;
    g. Subjects of the National Educational Curriculum, including mandatory and elective subjects for each educational stage;
    h. Educational content.

1. The Cabinet shall be the supreme authority responsible for approving the National Education Charter, the National Educational Curriculum, and fundamental changes thereto in accordance with the provisions of this Decree by Law.
2. The Council shall be responsible for the following:
    a. Providing the general strategic direction of the National Educational Curriculum, reviewing its alignment with national policies, and ensuring the consistency of its constituent parts;
    b. Approving the National Education Charter and the National Educational Curriculum prior to their submission to the Cabinet for approval.
3. The Ministry shall be the executive and technical authority responsible for the following:
    a. Preparing the National Education Charter, in coordination with Local Educational Authorities and other concerned authorities, and submitting it to the Cabinet for approval following the approval of the Council;
    b. Preparing the general framework of the National Educational Curriculum and the standards related thereto, and submitting it to the Cabinet for approval following the approval of the Council;
    c. Preparing, authoring, developing, and reviewing the National Educational Curriculum based on periodic processes of collecting and analyzing feedback, in coordination with the Council;
    d. Preparing and providing relevant educational resources and materials, approved assessment tools, and mechanisms for preparing educational personnel prior to the commencement of the actual implementation of the National Educational Curriculum and any changes thereto;
    e. Preparing educational personnel in public Educational Institutions in accordance with the approved mechanisms in this regard, and coordinating with Local Educational Authorities to prepare educational personnel in private Educational Institutions under their supervision;
    f. Publicly disclosing approved changes to the National Educational Curriculum in accordance with the mechanisms specified in the Executive Regulations of this Decree by Law, depending on the types of changes to the National Educational Curriculum referred to in Article (7) of this Decree by Law.
4. Educational Institutions shall be responsible for implementing the approved National Educational Curriculum and shall participate in piloting processes, collecting feedback, and submitting observations to the Ministry.
5. The Ministry and the Local Educational Authority, each within its respective competence, shall be responsible for supervising the implementation of the National Educational Curriculum and the Mandatory Subjects, and for submitting the results to the Ministry.
6. The Center shall be responsible for evaluating the quality of the implementation of the National Educational Curriculum, including the Mandatory Subjects, and for measuring its impact, and shall submit periodic reports in this regard to the Council and the Ministry, and whenever so requested.

1. Changes to the National Educational Curriculum shall be classified into four (4) categories according to their scope and impact, as follows:
    a. Fundamental and wide-ranging changes aimed at resetting the objectives and directions of the educational system at the national level, which affect the philosophical or structural foundations of the National Educational Curriculum, pursuant to an amendment or change to the National Education Charter or to the general structure of the National Educational Curriculum.
    b. . Partial and limited-scope changes that do not affect the general structure of the National Educational Curriculum and that relate to specific elements within subjects, pursuant to an amendment or change to Learning Outcomes, or the inclusion or removal of topics or instructional units within the original context of the subjects.
    c. Technical or formal changes that do not affect the pedagogical substance or the general structure of the National Educational Curriculum, aimed at enhancing clarity, correcting errors, improving the visual presentation of the content, making linguistic correction, reformatting, or clarifying instructional wording.
    d. Exceptional and urgent changes introduced in response to a national or global emergency requiring rapid educational intervention and aimed at addressing an emerging circumstance that has a direct impact on students or the educational process.
2. The Executive Regulations of this Decree by Law shall determine additional controls relating to the classification of changes to the National Educational Curriculum referred to in clause (1) of this Article.

1. Any entity or institution may propose any change to the National Educational Curriculum by submitting a formal request to the Ministry in accordance with the approved form for this purpose, including the justifications for the proposed change and the supporting evidence, in accordance with the provisions of this Decree by Law and its Executive Regulations.
2. All entities and institutions submitting a request to propose any change to the National Educational Curriculum shall comply with at least one of the following standards:
    a. Demonstrating the alignment of the proposed change with the national objectives of education, labor market requirements, or national identity and societal values;
    b. Relying on reliable studies and analyses that highlight current gaps in the content and specify the academic or pedagogical need for the proposed change;
    c. Any additional standards based on technical studies in accordance with the requirements of the public interest, as determined by decision of the Minister.

1. The Ministry shall examine all proposed changes to the National Educational Curriculum and classify them in accordance with Article (7) of this Decree by Law, and shall prepare an analytical memorandum for each change including the justifications, objectives, analysis of the impact on Learning Outcomes, implementation requirements, potential risks, and mitigation measures.
2. The following procedures shall be adopted with respect to changes to the National Educational Curriculum referred to in Article (7) of this Decree by Law:
    a. A fundamental change shall be approved by the Council and then submitted to the Cabinet for approval. This type of change shall be subject to mandatory field piloting in a sample of Educational Institutions and to a comprehensive evaluation of the field piloting results to ensure the readiness of the educational system prior to full implementation at the State level.
    b. A partial change shall be approved by the Council without the need for Cabinet approval, unless the Council decides otherwise.
    c. A minor change shall be approved and documented within the scope of the operational functions of the competent technical departments of the Ministry.
    d. An exceptional and urgent change shall be approved by a decision of the Chairman of the Council based on the recommendation of the Ministry, and a report thereon shall be submitted to the Cabinet where the impact of the change is wide-ranging.
3. The Executive Regulations of this Decree by Law shall determine the detailed procedures for examining and approving each type of change referred to in Article (7), including timeframes, consultation mechanisms, piloting, documentation, disclosure, and post-implementation evaluation.

1. Private schools that do not apply the National Educational Curriculum shall be obligated to teach the Mandatory Subjects in accordance with what is approved within the National Educational Curriculum. The Ministry and the Local Educational Authorities shall, within their respective competences, oversee the implementation of such subjects in a manner that ensures compliance with the academic and professional qualification requirements of teachers assigned to teach such subjects.
2. The Minister shall issue a decision specifying the academic and professional qualifications of teachers responsible for teaching the Mandatory Subjects in private schools that do not apply the National Educational Curriculum, concurrently with the approval of the National Educational Curriculum.
3. Private schools applying the National Educational Curriculum shall implement it in accordance with the guidelines and standards issued by decision of the Minister concurrently with the approval of the National Educational Curriculum, including the academic and professional qualification requirements of teachers.

The Executive Regulations of this Decree by Law shall be issued by decision of the Cabinet upon the proposal of the Minister and after coordination with the Council, and in coordination with Local Educational Authorities in respect of the Mandatory Subjects. The Executive Regulations shall include the following:
1. Standards and procedures relating to the submission of proposals for any change to the National Educational Curriculum.
2. Additional controls relating to the classification of changes to the National Educational Curriculum referred to in Article (7) of this Decree by Law.
3. Detailed procedures for examining and approving each type of change referred to in Article (7) of this Decree by Law, including timeframes, consultation mechanisms, piloting, documentation, disclosure, and post-implementation evaluation.
4. Detailed procedures for designing the National Educational Curriculum, approved models and their definitions, management of their requirements, mechanisms for their approval and follow-up, and other related procedures.
5. Controls and procedures relating to monitoring the implementation of the National Educational Curriculum and its review cycles.

Any provision that contradicts or conflicts with the provisions of this Decree by Law shall be repealed.

This Decree by Law shall be published in the Official Gazette and shall enter into force on the day following the date of its publication.