Dubai's Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA) has issued a new guide that provides renewed guidance on the new admission age policy for the 2026-27 academic year.

The guidance remains particularly relevant for new families joining schools in Dubai, as well as exceptional admissions cases that may continue into September and October.

This comes after KHDA on Thursday launched four compliance handbooks for private educational institutions in Dubai under the Flexible Regulation Framework, as part of the Education 33 (E33) strategy.

The handbooks cover early childhood centres, private schools, higher education institutions and training institutes, supporting the learner journey from the early years through school and higher education to skills development, training and lifelong learning.

Here’s what parents need to know about the much-talked-about new school admission cut-off, as the 2026–27 academic year for international curriculum schools got underway on August 31, 2026.

The official age cut-off for children entering Kindergarten and Grade 1 in the 2026–27 academic year is December 31 of the admission year, replacing the previous August 31 cut-off.

(Source: Khaleej Times)