Thousands set for moral education exam this week

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.

About one million learners at public and private schools receive moral education in the UAE, with the subject having been made compulsory in September 2017 by the education affairs office at Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Court.

The Moral Education Standardised Assessment will be completed in 78 schools, covering pupils in grades three, seven and nine, from today to April 18.

The assessments will be tailored to each grade and will examine pupils’ understanding of moral education.

A computer-based exercise uses a combination of knowledge recall and tasks that 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 that will be announced this year. Mohammed Al Nuaimi, 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.

“We are very pleased to launch the Moral Education Standardised Assessment,” Mr Al Nuaimi said.

“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 programme was launched by Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

It sets out to instil in youngsters core moral values, encompassing both traditional culture and customs plus human values shared across the world.

The programme is aimed at all ages and nationalities and was introduced to grades one to nine in September 2017, with grades 10 to 12 included 12 months later.

It 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 must receive 45 minutes of moral education every week.

As part of a continuing effort to evaluate the programme, a survey was recently conducted at 617 schools, supported by field visits to 48 public and private schools.

Another 50 field visits are currently taking place.