Healthy young minds require good nutrition, and His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, said a sound nutritional system must be implemented in schools to prevent the spread of diseases among students and to contain lifestyle diseases such as diabetes.

Shaikh Mohammed was on a visit to the Ministry of Education in Dubai on Monday and reiterated Arabic must be taught to students to retain 'our national identity and Arabic culture as well as our religion'.

He said science, technology, health and sport would promote overall development of students, following the directives of the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Tweeting about his visit, Shaikh Mohammed said: ''Every academic year must be better than the previous one. We cannot progress if the next generation is not better than the current one.'

He also telephoned UAE toppers of Grade 12 exams and congratulated them on their achievements and wished them the best for the future.

'You are a pride to our society,' he told Huda Ahli, 18, a UAE national and resident in Mirdif, who scored 99.8 per cent to top in Arts.

Accompanied by Shaikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai; and Shaikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, he later reviewed plans for the academic year 2012-2013.

Minister of Education Humaid Mohammed Obaid Al Qattami spoke of steps taken to ensure the smooth operation of the educational system at schools across the country. Al Qattami also touched on a number of initiatives launched by the Ministry of Education, including the Mohammed bin Rashid Initiative for Smart Learning .

On the smart learning project, Shaikh Mohammed tweeted: 'I also observed the progress of the 5-years smart learning initiative.

It shall bring fundamental changes to the education infrastructure.'

He commended the efforts of teachers and adminstrators. 'I wanted also to thank all the schoolteachers & the administrators for their continuous efforts with our students during the academic year,' he said in another tweet.

Shaikh Mohammed was presented a painting of himself and his father Shaikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum during the visit.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Education announced the 10 toppers in both Arts and Science groups. As many as 25,000 Grade 12 students, who had earlier registered on the MoE’s website, were informed of the results by email on Monday.