Dubai: The UAE Ministry of Education has identified seven key responsibilities for students and parents to regulate the process of choosing an educational path and linking it early to university specialisation and professional futures in the new academic year 2026-2027. This is in conjunction with allowing the transfer between educational paths within a timeframe not exceeding the first two weeks of the start of the academic year, which begins on August 31, thus giving students a limited opportunity to review their choices and decide on the path that is most compatible with their child’s academic aspirations.The responsibilities were included in the curriculum guide for the academic year 2026-2027, which applies to students in public and private schools that follow the Ministry of Education curriculum. This direction moves the commitment to choose a path from a mere distribution of study materials to an early decision that charts the way from school to university and the labour market.The Ministry places the student and the parent at the heart of the planning process, through a system that begins with understanding the study plan and available paths, and goes through guidance and acquiring decision-making skills, up to reviewing the requirements of higher education and the conditions for accepting the targeted specialisation and university before deciding on the career path.Four responsibilities of the studentAccording to the Ministry guide, the student bears four basic responsibilities, starting with attending the introductory workshops in the study plan organised by the school, to ensure that they know about the available paths, the nature of each one, and its requirements, before making a decision.The second responsibility is to attend the individual and group sessions organised by the school, with the aim of acquiring the skills necessary to choose the appropriate path, which supports the student’s ability to make a decision based on an understanding of his/her abilities, inclinations and ambitions, and not based on random choices or immediate considerations.The third responsibility places the student before a step that goes beyond the limits of the school, as he/she must review the higher education guide to choose the educational path or scenario that suits his/her future career, linking the choices of the school stage with the targeted university and professional destination.The fourth responsibility emphasises checking the university admission requirements for the major the student wishes to study and the university he/she aims to attend, and then choosing a path that is compatible with those requirements, in order to avoid discovering a gap between the school path and the university major requirements at a later stage.The parent is a partnerIn contrast, the Ministry assigned three main responsibilities to the parent, making them direct partners in the student’s academic decision-making, and not just a party that receives the result of choosing the path, after it has been decided.The responsibilities begin with the parent attending the introductory workshops in the study plan organised by the school, enabling him/her to understand the available paths and options, the requirements of each, and their impact on his/her son’s or daughter's future.The parent must also check university admission requirements for the chosen major, and the scope of the university the student is targeting, to ensure that the chosen path is compatible with those conditions. University planning begins from the moment the school path is chosen, and not when reaching the 12th grade.The third responsibility is to communicate and cooperate continuously with the school to support the student and guide him/her towards the most suitable path for his/her academic and professional future, thus strengthening the partnership between the family and the school in one of the most influential decisions in the student’s educational journey.Two weeks to review the decisionThe selection process gains additional importance with the Ministry setting the first two weeks of the start of the study as the timeframe for moving between educational tracks. This puts the student and the family in front of an early time window to review the decision and make sure of its suitability before completing the study journey in the chosen track.The timeframe reinforces the importance of investing the period before the start of studies and the first few weeks of the academic year, in carefully studying the options, learning about the requirements of higher education, and taking advantage of workshops and guidance sessions, instead of postponing research into the implications of the path until later stages of secondary education.Three-party decisionThe seven responsibilities outline a system in which the school, the student, and the family share responsibility for the decision. The student is required to participate, research, and verify, the parent is responsible for following up, examining university requirements, and cooperating with the school, while the school undertakes awareness, guidance, and organising workshops and sessions that support the choice.This system transforms the choice of career path in the 2026-2027 academic year from a short-term academic decision into a future roadmap that begins within the school, passes through university specialisation, and ends with a well-formed career.
