Abu Dhabi Bans 12 Schools from Enrolling Grades 11 & 12
- Publish date: Wednesday، 16 July 2025 Reading time: 1 min read
ADEK launches academic crackdown to fight grade inflation and protect education standards
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Abu Dhabi just put the brakes on 12 private schools, stopping them from enrolling students in Grades 11 and 12—at least for now. The move comes from ADEK (Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge), and it’s all part of a wider crackdown to keep high school grades real and reliable.
Read More: 22 School Behaviours Banned in Abu Dhabi
Why the Ban Happened
ADEK kicked off a full-on investigation after spotting suspicious gaps between students' school grades and how they actually performed on external tests. The numbers weren’t adding up, and that raised some serious red flags.
The aim? To make sure no one’s faking the grade—and that diplomas actually reflect what students learned.
Schools Now Under Review
The schools under review now have to hand over their full academic breakdowns. We're talking transcripts, grading systems, test samples, and even graduation requirement checklists. It’s a deep dive to find out if grades were padded or if credits were awarded without real performance.
What’s Coming Next
This is just Phase One. ADEK says it will soon widen the review to include students from Grades 9 through 11. They’ll also compare internal grades with external exams to spot any long-term patterns or school-wide issues.
Schools that don’t meet the standards could face even more action, including mandatory changes to how they grade and evaluate students moving forward.