Sep 28, 2026

Meet ADEK's AI mandate for 3–5x less than InstrucTwin

Abu Dhabi schools have a few weeks to choose a platform for ADEK's AI curriculum. Any ADEK-approved tool qualifies, and Flint gets a school compliant for a fraction of InstrucTwin's price.

Sohan Choudhury

Sohan Choudhury | Co-founder and CEO of Flint

Title card reading 'Meet ADEK's AI mandate for 3–5x less than InstrucTwin'

In September, ADEK told more than 170 private schools in Abu Dhabi that they must deliver its new AI curriculum, KG through Grade 12, using an AI learning tool that meets ADEK's requirements. We think the curriculum is good. It's built around four strands, benchmarked against work from the OECD, MIT, and Khalifa University, and it's clear that AI should support students' thinking instead of replacing it.

The hard part is the timeline. Schools are choosing a platform in a few weeks, in the middle of a school year, and InstrucTwin is the option most of them hear about first.

In our conversations with AI Leads, principals, and heads of digital learning across Abu Dhabi, one question comes up more than any other: do we have to use InstrucTwin? You don't. ADEK recommends InstrucTwin, and schools can deliver ADEK's curriculum on any ADEK-approved tool. Flint is one of them.

Two of the Abu Dhabi schools already using Flint are rated Outstanding in ADEK's Irtiqaa inspections: Sheikh Zayed Private Academy for Boys and Repton School Abu Dhabi.

Logos of Sheikh Zayed Private Academy for Boys and Repton School Abu Dhabi, both rated Outstanding by ADEK and using Flint

What compliance costs

InstrucTwin doesn't publish prices. Quotes schools have shared with us put AI literacy at roughly $55 per student per year, rising toward $90 per student once core subjects are added, with teacher seats billed separately.

For a school of 2,700 students, that's around $150,000 a year (about AED 550,000) for AI literacy. The same school on Flint pays under $30,000 (about AED 110,000), and that license covers AI literacy plus every other subject its teachers want to use AI in.

For most schools, the goal this year is getting compliant. Flint gets them there for 3–5x less.

The track record behind Flint

Flint has been in K-12 classrooms for three and a half years. More than 800,000 teachers and students use it, about 400 schools pay for it, and it holds an ESSA Tier IV evidence designation. ADEK approved Flint after piloting it, and schools ADEK rates Outstanding already use it.

InstrucTwin is much newer. It soft-launched in May 2026 and hasn't yet published research on student outcomes or case studies from schools using it. That's expected for a platform a few months old, but it does mean schools choosing it this year have less to go on.

Knowing which AI your students use

ADEK's AI policy asks schools to protect students' cognitive agency, keep human oversight over AI decisions, and make sure content is safe and aligned with UAE values. Part of answering for that is knowing where the AI behind the tutor comes from.

Flint runs only on closed-source models from Anthropic and OpenAI. We don't use open-source models, because the safety training and moderation behind these models is much stronger, and a tutor talking to eight-year-olds needs that. Teachers and administrators can read every message a student sends, schools set their own moderation guidelines, and concerning messages are flagged for review.

InstrucTwin's website doesn't say which models it uses, so it's a good question to ask in your demo.

What InstrucTwin does well

InstrucTwin has ADEK's curriculum loaded as a subject, which saves setup time. It has a parent portal and gamified progression, which Flint doesn't. And many AI Leads already know it from ADEK's training.

Those are real advantages. For most schools we don't think they justify paying 3–5x more, and ADEK doesn't require a parent portal: Flint was approved without one.

Questions to ask before you sign

Whichever platforms you're considering, ask each one:

  1. Is it ADEK-approved? (Both are.)
  2. What will it cost across every student and every subject, including teacher seats?
  3. Which AI models does it use, and can your teachers read every conversation?
  4. Which schools like yours have used it for more than a term, and how did it go?

For a side-by-side breakdown, see Flint vs. InstrucTwin.

Get your school ready for ADEK's AI curriculum

Isaac Oliff-Lieberman, a member of Flint's founding team, leads Flint's rollout at Abu Dhabi schools. Book 30 minutes with him and he'll show you how your school can deliver ADEK's AI curriculum on Flint, what it will cost for your student numbers, and how quickly your AI Lead can be up and running. Our team will help set up the curriculum and train your teachers, and we'll stay with you through the year.