Resit exams, remote eligibility and tech glitches: What UAE families need to know as Term 3 ends
For many UAE families, the final stretch of June is exam season. The Ministry of Education has confirmed that Term 3 centralised end-of-year exams for the 2025-2026 academic year will run from Tuesday, June 24 to Friday, July 3, 2026, for students in Grades 5 to 12 in public schools and private schools that follow the ministry's curriculum. With the academic year wrapping up the day exams finish, the natural next question for many families is what happens when a student does not pass a subject, and what the rules are around resit and remote examinations. The ministry has just clarified that as well.
What the exams actually are
The Term 3 centralised exams cover Group A subjects, which include core academic disciplines such as Mathematics, English, Arabic, Islamic Education, the sciences and Social Studies. The exam window is one of two nationally administered assessment windows during the year. Group B subjects are assessed through final assignments and projects, with submissions due between June 15 and 19.
Students in Grades 3 and 4 are exempt from the centralised exams and are instead assessed through the School Summative Assessment (SSA) across all subjects, in line with the developmental approach the ministry uses for younger pupils. Students in Grades 1 and 2 are assessed entirely through school-based evaluation.
Resit examinations explained
When a student does not achieve the minimum passing grade in a Group A subject at the end of the academic year, the resit examinations are the formal route to a second chance. They apply to students in Grades 4 to 12 across all tracks following the national curriculum, including students in private schools that apply the ministry curriculum.
The mechanics are designed to be fair to students. Resit papers are administered electronically and, in past cycles, students in Grade 4 sat their papers in paper format with in-school attendance, while Grades 5 to 12 took theirs electronically, also in school. Crucially, students are awarded the higher of the two scores between the original final exam and the resit, so sitting a resit cannot lower an existing mark, only potentially raise it. For Grade 12 students in private schools, resit exams are administered in public schools under joint supervision with school branch coordinators.
Who can sit the resit remotely
The biggest piece of new clarity from the Ministry of Education concerns who is allowed to take resit examinations remotely, rather than in person at the school. Until now, the default has been in-person electronic testing, with limited exceptions. The ministry has now confirmed that remote examinations may be approved on a case-by-case basis by school administrations in coordination with the General Education Examinations and Assessment Department.
Four categories of students are eligible:
- People of Determination who are unable to attend examinations in person
- Students undergoing medical treatment, whether inside or outside the UAE
- Students who are abroad for approved reasons
- Minors being held in juvenile care centres
The provisions are set out in the ministry's frequently asked questions document on examination procedures and student support. In practice, families who believe they fall into any of these categories will need to apply through their child's school, which will then coordinate with the ministry's assessment department. Approval is not automatic, but the framework now exists for it to be considered.
What happens if there is a technical problem
For families whose children are sitting their exams in person on a school device, the ministry has also clarified what happens if the technology lets the student down. Schools are required to make every possible effort to resolve technical issues during the examination period, and must ensure that all students are able to complete their assessments.
If a student does not have access to a suitable computer device of their own, schools are expected to provide one or grant the student access to school computer laboratories, so they can sit the centrally administered electronic examination on equipment provided by the school. In other words, lack of a device at home should not, in itself, be a barrier to taking the exam.
If a technical issue cannot be resolved during the examination despite all necessary measures being taken, the affected student's details will be recorded for a compensatory examination. This is the formal back-up route: instead of the student being penalised for a system problem outside their control, their case is logged and a make-up paper is scheduled.
How parents should approach this practically
For UAE families with children sitting Term 3 exams, four steps will save the most stress in the final fortnight of the year.
First, confirm with the school which subjects sit under Group A (centralised exam) and which sit under Group B (assignment and project). The deadlines and the workload are different, and for students struggling in a particular subject, knowing whether their final mark depends on a written exam or a project changes how they should plan their last revision days.
Second, if a child is in any of the four remote-eligibility categories, apply through the school early. People of Determination, students undergoing medical treatment, students temporarily abroad for approved reasons and minors in juvenile care centres can all be considered for remote resits, but the school needs time to coordinate with the General Education Examinations and Assessment Department. Late requests are harder to process.
Third, check that the child's device is exam-ready. The MoE's electronic testing platform places real demands on personal devices, and most schools run experimental tests before the actual exam window to flush out problems. If a child does not have a suitable device, ask the school in writing about access to school laboratories before exam day, rather than on the morning of the paper.
Fourth, know the resit route. Failing a subject in Group A is not the end of the academic year. Resits cover the same subjects, the higher of the two scores stands, and the system is designed to give students a clear second chance rather than carrying a fail forward. If a child's final marks come back below the threshold in any Group A subject, the resit calendar becomes the next thing to plan around.
The wider picture
The Ministry of Education's clarifications fit into a wider pattern of UAE assessment policy becoming more structured, more digital and more accommodating of individual circumstances. The shift to fully electronic resit exams for Grades 5 to 12, the formal recognition of remote eligibility for specific student categories, and the requirement for schools to provide devices or laboratory access if needed all push in the same direction: a system designed to test what students know, not whether they happened to have a working laptop at home.
For UAE families, the immediate takeaway is calmer than the exam-season headlines might suggest. The rules are clear, the process is documented, and there are formal routes for exceptional cases. The first call should always be the school's exam coordinator, who can confirm what applies to your child and walk you through any application process you may need to use.
Sources:
Gulf News, "Explained: Who is eligible for remote resit exams in the UAE?" by Huda Ata (June 8, 2026). https://gulfnews.com/uae/education/explained-who-is-eligible-for-remote-resit-exams-in-the-uae-1.500567561
Khaleej Times, "UAE sets Term 3 exam dates for 2025-2026, June 24 to July 3 for grades 5-12" (June 4, 2026). https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/uae-term-3-exam-schedule-2025-2026-academic-year
Gulf News, "MoE team finalizes review of resit exam questions ahead of launch tomorrow" by Ali Al Hammadi. https://gulfnews.com/uae/education/moe-team-finalizes-review-of-resit-exam-questions-ahead-of-launch-tomorrow-1.500185943
