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UAE Vice-President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who also serves as Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, surprised the country's top-performing Grade 12 students on Saturday with a Dh100,000 cash gift, presented as a personal token of appreciation for students who achieved the highest marks nationally in the 2025-2026 secondary school examinations.

The gesture reached students across all three of the UAE's national education streams: government schools, private schools and applied technology schools, each divided further into their respective academic tracks.

The national toppers

Government Education

Elite Track: Abeer Abdul Rahman Fayez Humaid Al Shamsi, Al Rashidiya Cycle 3 Girls School, Dubai

Advanced Track: Adam Mohammed Awad Awad Ibrahim, Al Khatim Boys School, Abu Dhabi

General Track: Hessa Rashid Musbeh Abdul Rahman Al Alili, Al Mawaheb Girls School, Abu Dhabi

Private Education

Advanced Track: Ali Asim Hassan, Al Noor International Private School, Sharjah

General Track: Abdullah Yasser Abu Arabi, Al Falah Academy, Abu Dhabi

Applied Technology Education

Science Track: Rashid Ahmed Rashid Ali Al Dhanhani, Applied Technology Schools, Fujairah

Advanced Track: Sheikha Abdul Aziz Abdul Rahman Mohammed Al Hosani, Applied Technology Schools, Ajman

General Track: Mariam Saeed Hamad Al Hadfi Al Ketbi, Applied Technology Schools, Umm Al Quwain

Eight students in total, drawn from across five emirates and three distinct schooling systems, each recognised as the national leader in their specific track.

The message that came with the money

Alongside the Dh100,000 award, each student received a personal message from Sheikh Mohammed. Congratulations on your outstanding achievement, he wrote. We share this moment of joy and pride with you and your family, and we congratulate our nation on your graduation, which will add another building block to the journey of growth and prosperity in our beloved country.

Several of the top achievers said afterward that the emotional significance of the message outweighed the financial value of the gift itself. They said the words we are proud of you, and we are counting on you would stay with them throughout their university studies and professional careers, describing the recognition as both an honour and a responsibility. For the students, the gesture was less about the sum on the cheque and more about a head of state personally taking the time to notice them by name.

A personal follow-up to public praise

The cash gift builds on a public message of congratulations Sheikh Mohammed posted on X on July 11, when he named all eight students individually and praised their academic excellence and perseverance.

We congratulate our sons and daughters, the top achievers of the General Secondary Education Certificate on the national level, Sheikh Mohammed wrote, naming Abeer, Adam, Hessa, Ali, Abdullah, Rashid, Sheikha and Mariam directly in the post. We congratulate their families who stayed up late, followed closely and provided support, and we congratulate their teachers who instilled in them a love of knowledge and diligence. We are proud of you all, and confident that you will be part of building the future of the Emirates.

He added that the UAE would continue to create the best environment for empowering the individual, and that education will remain our greatest national project, and our children are our winning bet in the present and the future.

The Dh100,000 gift, delivered two days later, turned that public praise into a direct, personal gesture toward each of the eight students and their families.

How families responded

The reaction from students and families was immediate and heartfelt. Omar Abu Arabi, uncle of private school topper Abdullah Yasser Abu Arabi, posted his thanks on Instagram, describing the moment as one of great pride and honour. He thanked Sheikh Mohammed for his unlimited support and visionary leadership, which he said always places the UAE and everyone who calls it home at the forefront of his priorities, and for continuing to inspire future generations.

Al Noor International School in Sharjah, home to Advanced Track topper Ali Asim Hassan, also marked the achievement publicly, describing its continued tradition of nurturing outstanding students who reach the highest national rankings and proudly uphold the banner of academic distinction.

One widely shared social media reflection on the graduating cohort captured a broader sentiment about the resilience of this year's class. The generation, the post noted, studied through a pandemic, witnessed global conflicts, adapted between online and in-person learning, and still excelled. Their success, it continued, is the result of 12 years of dedication, perseverance and continuous support from families and teachers. They are truly a generation shaped by challenges, and what lies ahead is even brighter.

Part of a wider pattern of recognition

The gesture arrives at the end of an academic year that has, across almost every curriculum in the UAE, been defined by both disruption and remarkable results. CBSE students across the country posted strong Class 12 outcomes despite a national re-evaluation controversy. IB Diploma students delivered one of the strongest cohorts in years, with four UAE students achieving the perfect 45 points despite exams being replaced by the IB's Non-Exam Contingency Measure amid regional security concerns. ICSE and ISC students across Dubai posted 100 per cent pass rates with standout scorers of their own.

Sheikh Mohammed's Dh100,000 gift to the national General Secondary Education Certificate toppers sits alongside this broader pattern: a UAE leadership visibly and personally engaged in celebrating academic achievement, at a moment when that achievement came against a genuinely difficult backdrop.

Why this matters for UAE families

For families across the UAE, the gesture reinforces a message that has been consistent throughout the year's education stories: the country treats educational excellence as a matter of national pride, not simply an individual academic outcome. From the recent AED 30,000 scholarship system upgrade to the ongoing investment in AI-driven education infrastructure through Project Nova, the UAE leadership has repeatedly signalled that education sits at the centre of the country's long-term vision.

For the eight students named here, and for the thousands of other Grade 12 graduates across the UAE this year, the recognition is a powerful marker of a demanding academic journey completed under real pressure. As the students themselves have said, the money was never really the point. Being personally seen, named and thanked by the country's leadership is the part they say they will carry with them. For younger students and their families still navigating school choices and academic pathways, it is a reminder of what sustained effort across the government, private and applied technology streams can lead to, and of a country that continues to notice and reward it, at the very highest level.

Sources:

Khaleej Times, "UAE's top students receive surprise Dh100,000 cash gift from Sheikh Mohammed" by Azza Al Ali (July 13, 2026). https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/education/top-students-surprise-dh100000-sheikh-mohammed 

Gulf News, "'We are proud of you': Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid surprises top students with Dh100,000 awards" (July 12, 2026). https://gulfnews.com/uae/we-are-proud-of-you-sheikh-mohammed-bin-rashid-surprises-top-students-with-dh100000-awards-1.500604919 

Khaleej Times, "Dubai Ruler congratulates top 8 UAE high school students" by Elizabeth Gonzales (July 11, 2026). https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/dubai-ruler-sheikh-mohammed-congratulate-top-8-high-school-students 

Gulf News, "UAE top secondary school achievers announced as Sheikh Mohammed congratulates students and families" (July 11, 2026). https://gulfnews.com/uae/education/uae-announces-top-secondary-school-achievers-sheikh-mohammed-congratulates-students-1.500604412