Abu Dhabi sets private schools a target of 2,000 Emirati teachers within five years

Abu Dhabi's education regulator on Friday 23 October 2026 launched a policy to place more than 2,000 Emiratis in teaching jobs at the emirate's private schools over the next five years.

The Emiratisation Policy for Private Education, from the Department of Education and Knowledge (Adek), sets targets for teaching posts specifically. Private schools already have to meet federal Emiratisation quotas; the new policy moves the focus to classroom posts rather than administration.

Hiring will start with teachers of Arabic, Islamic studies and social studies, and build up gradually over the five years.

Pledges from five operators

Five school groups have signed partnerships with Adek and promised to recruit Emirati teachers:

• Taaleem, more than 200
• Sabis, more than 150
• GEMS Education, more than 120
• International Community Schools, at least 77
• Liwa Education, at least 61

That adds to a May 2026 agreement under which Aldar Education promised more than 300 places for Emirati educators in its schools.

The policy was drawn up with the federal Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation and the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council, known as Nafis. Adek said it would work with every private school in Abu Dhabi to help them reach the new targets.

Training routes

Schools get access to screened candidates, paid-for qualifications and training in schools in return.

Nafis has launched a Teachers Programme, run by the Emirates College for Advanced Education (ECAE) with Adek. It has two routes, one for teachers and one for teaching assistants, and is open to Emirati jobseekers and people changing career.

Trainees on the teacher route can receive up to AED4,000 a month (about US$1,090) while they train.

The programme sits alongside two earlier Adek schemes run with ECAE:

• Midad, a short course launched in 2026 for Emiratis who want to try teaching
• Kon Moallim, launched in 2025, which pays for a postgraduate qualification in education

Students can also sign an Emirati Student Employment Contract, joining a school as an employee from the start of their studies with a monthly salary and a pension. They count towards the school's quota.

Wider quotas

UAE employers with 50 or more staff, schools included, must raise the share of Emiratis in their workforce by 1 per cent every six months. They have to reach 10 per cent by the end of 2026 or face fines.

Government figures released in July put the number of Emiratis working for private companies at more than 190,000, across 32,000 firms.

The new targets apply in Abu Dhabi only. GEMS and Taaleem also run schools in Dubai, where the regulator is the KHDA. Prospectus lists GEMS Wellington International School and GEMS World Academy, and Taaleem's Dubai British School Emirates Hills, among the Dubai schools it covers.