UAE's Ministry of Education confirms official public school hours

Authority denies online speculation of change in timings

With the new school year beginning on Monday, August 25, the Ministry of Education has had to address misleading social media posts. Chris Whiteoak / The National

The UAE’s education authority has denied online speculation that public school hours have been changed.

Social media users have been sharing unverified posts claiming government schools hours were reset. This speculation surfaced before the new academic year, which is scheduled to begin on Monday, August 25.

“The Ministry of Education denies what is being circulated through social media platforms regarding a decision to change the official school hours for students of government schools in any of the educational stages, including kindergartens,” the statement on the X platform said.

Sheikh Hamdan shares throwback photos of his first day at school

Read More

“The ministry also confirms that it has not published any official material on its channels or accounts on social media regarding this matter.”

Soon after releasing the statement, the ministry published the official timetable for the 2025–2026 academic year.

For kindergarten, school hours from Monday to Thursday will run from 8am to 1pm, with the day ending at 11.45am on Friday.

For pupils in Years 1 to 4, there will be two options: either from 7.15am to 1.25pm or from 8am to 2.20pm, with shorter hours on Friday ending at 10.35am or 11.45am.

For pupils in Years 5 to 12, boys will attend from 7.15am to 2.15pm from Monday to Thursday, ending at 10.35am on Fridays, while girls will attend from 8am to 3.15pm, ending at 11.45am on Fridays.