12 Abu Dhabi schools barred from enrolling students amid academic audit

The Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK) has launched a major review of academic records at private schools across the emirate.

The move is aimed at tackling grade inflation and ensuring students' transcripts accurately reflect their academic performance.

In Phase One of the review, private schools must submit detailed Grade 12 academic records, including transcripts, assessment samples and grading policies, for immediate inspection.

So far, 12 schools have been temporarily barred from enrolling students in Grades 11 and 12 until they address compliance issues.

ADEK says the initiative is part of a broader push for fairness, transparency and academic integrity. The goal is to ensure students earn their qualifications through real achievement, and not inflated grades or inconsistent standards.

Future phases will widen the review to include Grades 9 through 11, comparing internal grades with external benchmarks. Schools that fail to meet standards could face further action.

ADEK says the review comes after its quality checks uncovered gaps between internal grades and benchmark tests, raising concerns over the credibility of some student qualifications.