Instead of redoing a school year, students can utilise EmSAT results to attend university.

Dubai: Students who were unable to enrol in a higher educational institution owing to poor high school results will no longer be required to retake a full year of high school in order to register at universities.
Rather, the Commission for Academic Accreditation (CAA) of the Ministry of Education (MoE) has stated that they can take EmSAT (Emirates Standardised Test) to enhance their grades in order to join higher education institutions.

 

EmSAT examinations can be taken as many times as necessary until students acquire the requisite grades and enhance their overall score in certain areas (Arabic, Maths and English).

Ineligible in the past

Dr Mohammad Yousef Baniyas, higher education advisor and director of the CAA, said: “Some students used to graduate from high school with low grades, ranging between 50 and 60 per cent, which makes them ineligible to join universities. They had no choice but to repeat a whole high school year in order to get a minimal grade of 70% and enroll in institutions.”

A fresh possibility

He added: “This used to cost parents extra money and time in addition to the psychological burden. Things have changed recently, and students with low marks can take the EmSAT test to improve their grades, allowing them to get the needed grade and enroll in colleges.”

How does it work?

According to Baniyas, the needed EmSAT scores are decided by the student’s desired academic programme. For individuals interested in studying medicine or engineering, for example, a 900 in math is necessary, whereas a 600 is required for those interested in sports or business administration.

Math, Physics, and English are all required courses for engineering majors.

Students interested in studying medicine, pharmacy, or dentistry must concentrate on math, as well as two science courses (physics, chemistry, or biology) from a list of three (physics, chemistry, and biology), as well as English.