A bold shift in ADEK’s education policy is placing student choice and individual pathways at the centre of post-secondary planning. This challenges long-standing norms that favoured prestigious university placements over personal passion and the right fit.
That’s according to Sylvie Wald, Director of the Education Policy Office at Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge (ADEK), who spoke to Khaleej Times on the sidelines of the Counselors Forum in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
She said, “The Career and University Guidance Policy strongly emphasises that students should be supported in their choice of post-secondary destination. We actually use that term to encompass everything — higher education, technical and vocational education (TVET), military service, even if they want to take a sabbatical year, job placement, whatever it might be.”
This directive signals a departure from legacy practices that expected students to follow narrowly defined professions, often misaligned with their actual interests or capabilities.
Instead, the policy’s core focus is on what it calls ‘best fit’.
“The reasoning behind that is because traditionally, there has been a focus on sending students into those (traditional) professions and many students actually are not able to fulfill those aspirations,” added Wald. “We want schools today to not just gather graduate destination information, but to ‘report meaningful indicators’ to us.”
Notably, schools in Abu Dhabi are mandated to appoint at least one full-time equivalent (FTE) CU Guidance Counselor, with the aim of ensuring that they have at least one dedicated full-time CU Guidance Counselor by September 1, 2026.
Elucidating on the updated policy, Wald highlighted a key change is in how success is measured. “We’re not asking for how many of your students enter the top 100 ranked university. That’s fantastic if you did that …but the most important indicator for us is how many of your students were accepted into one of their (students’) top three choices.”
This approach supports students whose aspirations may lie outside conventional elite institutions — such as those pursuing careers in the arts, technology, or hands-on vocations. “If those (referring to Harvard, Yale, Princeton) weren’t in their (students’) top three choices, did you (schools) do a good job of supporting them in order to enter into those institutions (of their choice)?”
Alongside best fit, the policy also places a strong emphasis on ‘student agency’, aiming to curb what it calls “more traditional practices” in which parental ambitions can override student interests.
“You can’t do away with parental engagement — it’s in the policy as well,” she added. “We do say that you do need to meet with parents and engage them in every step of the way in their career process. But in that same clause, you will find that there is a reference to student voice and student agency.”
Therefore, the message to school leaders is clear — prioritise collaboration. “It’s your job as a school… it’s your job as a senior leader to support your career university guidance counsellor to make sure that they’re conveying this information to parents. Letting them (parents) know that, yes, this is what you would like for them, but let’s listen to what your child wants. What do they want? And how can we work together in order to make this work for everybody?”
Wald also emphasised that the education regulator’s comprehensive career guidance programmes for schools also aims at levelling the playing field for all students.
The initiative ensures that every student — regardless of school fees or background — has access to a qualified career counsellor. She pointed out this approach is expected to gradually build parent and student confidence in in-school guidance and reduce dependency on expensive private counsellors.
“One of the biggest shifts we’ve made is involving schools in the policymaking process from the very beginning,” she added. “We co-constructed this policy with them (schools) to ensure it’s doable, equitable, and tailored to the diverse education landscape we regulate.”
© Khaleej Times
Twitter