Legislation Details
- Full Title: Federal Decree by Law Concerning Combating Cheating and Violation of Examination System
- Law Type: Federal Decree-Law
- Law Number: [33] of 2023
- Issued Date: 25 Sep 2023
- Effective Date: 30 Sep 2023
- Official Gazette: No. 760
- Sector: Education
- Status: Active
- Number of Articles: 28
- Chapters/Parts: 0
- Amendments: 0
Summary
This Federal Decree-Law regulates the prevention and punishment of cheating and violations of the examination system in the UAE. Its purpose is to consolidate the principles of equality, transparency, and credibility in the examination process, and to strengthen mechanisms to combat violations and ensure the proper functioning of the examination system. (Federal Decree by Law Concerning Combating Cheating and Violation of Examination System, 2023, Art. 2) The law applies to examinations conducted by educational institutions as well as those supervised by the Ministry of Education or other educational authorities, whether in-person or remote. It establishes obligations for examination officers, penalties for non-students who engage in cheating or system violations, and disciplinary procedures for students and officers. The law also empowers certain officials to have judicial enforcement powers and mandates reporting of violations. (Federal Decree by Law Concerning Combating Cheating and Violation of Examination System, 2023, Arts. 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10)
What is the scope and purpose of this law?
The scope of this Federal Decree-Law is to regulate examinations conducted by educational institutions as well as those supervised by the Ministry of Education or other educational authorities, whether in-person or remote. (Federal Decree by Law Concerning Combating Cheating and Violation of Examination System, 2023, Art. 3) The law's purpose is to consolidate the principles of equality and equal opportunities, and establish transparency and credibility in the examination system. It also aims to strengthen mechanisms and means to combat violations of the examination system and ensure its proper functioning and sound procedures. (Federal Decree by Law Concerning Combating Cheating and Violation of Examination System, 2023, Art. 2)
What are the key definitions under this law?
The law provides the following key definitions:
- Ministry: Ministry of Education
- Educational Authorities: Federal and local government authorities concerned with education affairs
- Educational Institutions: Governmental or private institutions in which a student is enrolled, including schools, universities, colleges, institutes, and continuing education centers
- Student: Anyone enrolled in an educational institution to obtain a certificate or academic degree, including those subject to assessment or placement examinations
- Examination: A tool developed or administered by the Ministry, educational authorities, or educational institutions to assess a student's skills, knowledge, and learning outcomes
- Examination Centre: A center approved by the Ministry or educational authorities to conduct examinations
- Examination Room: The location specified for conducting an examination
- Examination Committees: Committees formed to supervise examinations
- Violation of the Examination System: Any act that would cause disturbance or confusion to the work of the examination committees or the conduct of the examinations, and may compromise the integrity of the examination procedures or results
- Cheating: Obtaining or attempting to obtain, give, or leak information related to examination questions, answers, or content by illegal means
- Examination Officers: Examination committee officers, supervisors, employees of examination centers, and those responsible for monitoring, observation, question creation, and grading
(Federal Decree by Law Concerning Combating Cheating and Violation of Examination System, 2023, Art. 1)
What are the main obligations and requirements?
The law imposes the following key obligations on examination officers: 1. Educate students about the importance of complying with all examination controls, instructions, and guidelines. (Federal Decree by Law Concerning Combating Cheating and Violation of Examination System, 2023, Art. 5(1)) 2. Organize and control examinations in committees, rooms, and centers, and create conditions to ensure the smooth conduct of examinations. (Federal Decree by Law Concerning Combating Cheating and Violation of Examination System, 2023, Art. 5(2)) 3. Control cases of examination system violations and apply the disciplinary procedures. (Federal Decree by Law Concerning Combating Cheating and Violation of Examination System, 2023, Art. 5(3)) 4. Refrain from providing assistance or support to students in examination rooms and centers. (Federal Decree by Law Concerning Combating Cheating and Violation of Examination System, 2023, Art. 5(4)) 5. Refrain from enabling or facilitating student violations of the examination system. (Federal Decree by Law Concerning Combating Cheating and Violation of Examination System, 2023, Art. 5(5)) 6. Comply with any other obligations determined by the Ministry or educational authority. (Federal Decree by Law Concerning Combating Cheating and Violation of Examination System, 2023, Art. 5(6))
What are the penalties for non-compliance?
The law does not specify any penalties for non-compliance. The legislation only provides penalties for individuals other than students who commit acts of cheating or violation of the examination system, as follows: 1. A fine not exceeding AED 200,000 for anyone who prints, publishes, promotes, transmits, or leaks information related to examination questions, answers, or content with the intention of cheating or violating the examination system; modifies a student's answer or grade unlawfully; or impersonates a student to take an examination. (Federal Decree by Law Concerning Combating Cheating and Violation of Examination System, 2023, Art. 6(1)) 2. The same penalty as above for anyone who participates or contributes as an original perpetrator or partner in causing the commission of the acts mentioned in the previous point. (Federal Decree by Law Concerning Combating Cheating and Violation of Examination System, 2023, Art. 6(2)) 3. The court may order community service for up to 6 months instead of or in combination with the fine. (Federal Decree by Law Concerning Combating Cheating and Violation of Examination System, 2023, Art. 6(4))
Which authorities or bodies are responsible for enforcement?
The law empowers the following authorities and bodies for enforcement: 1. The Ministry of Education and local educational authorities are responsible for establishing procedures and mechanisms to combat cheating and violations of the examination system. (Federal Decree by Law Concerning Combating Cheating and Violation of Examination System, 2023, Art. 4) 2. The Ministry, educational authorities, and educational institutions are responsible for establishing conduct rules and disciplinary procedures for students and examination officers. (Federal Decree by Law Concerning Combating Cheating and Violation of Examination System, 2023, Art. 7) 3. Employees of the examination committees can be granted the capacity of judicial enforcement officers by a resolution of the Minister of Justice or head of the local judicial authority, in agreement with the Minister or head of the educational authority. (Federal Decree by Law Concerning Combating Cheating and Violation of Examination System, 2023, Art. 9) 4. Educational or administrative staff in educational authorities or institutions are required to report any violations of the law to the Ministry or educational authority. (Federal Decree by Law Concerning Combating Cheating and Violation of Examination System, 2023, Art. 10)
How does this law interact with other UAE legislation?
The law states that any provision that violates or contradicts its provisions shall be repealed. (Federal Decree by Law Concerning Combating Cheating and Violation of Examination System, 2023, Art. 12(1)) It also specifies that resolutions and regulations related to examinations issued before this law came into force shall continue to be implemented insofar as they do not conflict with its provisions, until new resolutions that replace them are issued. (Federal Decree by Law Concerning Combating Cheating and Violation of Examination System, 2023, Art. 12(2))
When did this law come into effect?
This Federal Decree-Law shall come into effect from the day following the date of its publication in the Official Gazette, which was on 29 September 2023. (Federal Decree by Law Concerning Combating Cheating and Violation of Examination System, 2023, Art. 13)
Source Documents
This article analyses Federal Decree by Law Concerning Combating Cheating and Violation of Examination System for legal research and educational purposes. For the purpose of interpretation and application, reference must be made to the original Arabic text. In case of conflict, the Arabic text prevails. This does not constitute legal advice.