Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, homeschooling is legal in the UAE. However, you must register with the relevant educational authority in your emirate (ADEK in Abu Dhabi, KHDA in Dubai, or MOE for Sharjah and the Northern Emirates). The specific requirements and level of oversight vary by emirate.

You don't need a teaching licence, but you do need to register or notify the relevant authority. In Dubai, for example, KHDA has a specific registration process for homeschooling families. In Abu Dhabi, you apply through ADEK. The process is more about notification and compliance than obtaining a formal licence.

Yes. You do not need to be a qualified teacher to homeschool your child in the UAE. Many homeschooling parents have no formal teaching background. What matters is that you follow a recognised curriculum and that your child is making educational progress. There are also many resources, online programmes, and tutors available to support you.

This is one of the most common concerns — and one of the biggest misconceptions about homeschooling. The UAE has a thriving homeschool community with regular meetups, co-ops, field trips, and extracurricular activities. Many homeschooled children participate in sports clubs, art classes, music lessons, and community groups. Socialisation is absolutely achievable — it just looks different from a traditional school setting.

Homeschooled students in the UAE can sit internationally recognised exams as private candidates. For the British curriculum, this means IGCSEs and A-Levels through exam centres that accept private entries (such as those run by Pearson Edexcel or Cambridge International). American curriculum students can sit the SAT or ACT. Several exam centres in Dubai and Abu Dhabi accept private candidates — it's worth researching these early.

The best curriculum depends on your family's goals, your child's learning style, and your long-term plans. We've written a detailed guide on choosing a curriculum that covers the most popular options available in the UAE, including British, American, IB, Islamic-integrated, Charlotte Mason, and Montessori approaches.

Costs vary widely. At the low end, you could homeschool using free or low-cost online resources for just a few hundred dirhams per year. At the higher end, premium online schools, private tutors, and specialised materials could cost several thousand dirhams. Most families fall somewhere in between. The good news is that homeschooling is generally significantly cheaper than private school tuition in the UAE.

Yes. There's no requirement to homeschool all of your children. Many families have some children in school and others being homeschooled, depending on each child's needs. You'll just need to register the homeschooled child separately with the relevant authority.