Thousands of pupils to sit moral education exam this week
Test is part of assessment of the UAE's moral education programme, which was rolled out in 2017
Thousands of pupils across the country are sitting a moral education exam this week. Reem Mohammed / The National
More than 10,000 pupils will sit an exam this week to test the progress of moral education courses being held in the country's schools.
More than one million learners at public and private schools receive moral education in the UAE, with the subject made compulsory by the education affairs office at Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Court in September, 2017.
The Moral Education Standardised Assessment will be completed in 78 schools, covering students from grades three, seven and nine, from April 14 to April 18.
The assessments will be tailored to each grade and will examine pupils' understanding of moral education.
The computer-based exercise uses a combination of knowledge recall and tasks which ask pupils to respond to certain scenarios to judge the effectiveness of the education programme in teaching morals.
The assessments will be carried out in conjunction with testing organisation, ACT, which will monitor the process and produce results which will be announced later in the year.
Mohammed Al Neaimi, director of the education affairs office at Abu Dhabi Crown Prince's Court, said the assessments are being held to evaluate the effectiveness of the moral education programme.
UAE pupils to sit new moral education exam
"We are very pleased to launch the Moral Education Standardized Assessment," said Mr Al Neaimi.
"This assessment is primarily designed to measure students’ attitudes and knowledge of the moral education values and to measure the effectiveness of the moral education curriculum overall.”
The UAE moral education programme was launched by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
The initiative sets out to instil youngsters with core moral values, encompassing both traditional culture and customs and human values shared across the world.
The programme is aimed at all ages and nationalities and was rolled out to grades one to nine in September 2017, with grades 10 to 12 included in the curriculum 12 months later.
The Moral Education Programme was launched to build character, encourage a moral outlook, foster a sense of community and show pupils the importance of immersing themselves in culture.
Pupils in public and private schools must receive 45 minutes of moral education every week.
As part of ongoing effort to evaluate the programme, a survey was recently conducted at 617 schools, supported by field visits to 48 public and private schools in the country.
Another 50 field visits are currently taking place.