ADEK AI Literacy Initiative — Abu Dhabi Rolls Out a K-12 AI Framework, Twice-Yearly Skills Assessment and Tiered Teacher Training in 170+ Private Schools

In September 2026, Abu Dhabi's Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK) announced it is advancing an AI Literacy initiative across more than 170 private schools, covering kindergarten to Grade 12. The framework sets out four progressive learner profiles, from an early-grades 'AI Aware Explorer' and 'AI Literate Thinker' to an 'AI Solution Builder' by Grade 8 and a 'Systems and Applications Designer' by Grade 12. Press reports name the OECD, MIT, Microsoft and Khalifa University of Science and Technology among the partners in developing the framework.
Students in Grades 4 to 12 take an AI skills growth assessment twice a year. Educators follow a three-level professional-development path: mandatory foundational training for all educators, optional training for department heads, and advanced training for school-appointed AI leads. ADEK targets 19,000 educators for training and upskilling. A policy framework for AI use in schools covers six areas, including data protection, academic integrity and fairness.
Evidence caveats: both sources, published 17–18 September 2026, describe the roll-out and its design; neither reports budget, enrolment numbers or measured learning outcomes. The 19,000 figure is a training target, not a completion count, and only the foundational training is mandatory. The initiative is therefore valuable mainly as a structured, assessed, teacher-first national-scale design whose results will need to be tracked, not as proof of impact.

Read the full analysis: https://www.emirates247.com/uae/adek-advances-ai-literacy-initiative-across-more-than-170-private-schools/5761