Break ends for 5m students

More than 5 million boys and girls will start school on the new academic year at sunrise Sunday.
“The latest figure of the number of students in the Kingdom is 5.19 million of which 2.63 million are boys and 2.56 girls,” said Rashed Al-Ghayyad, secretary-general of the Education Administration at the Ministry of Education.
He put the number of secondary school students at 1.23 million, 1.21 million at the intermediate schools and 2.53 million at the primary level and 1.41 million at nursery schools apart from 27,439 students in special schools and 49,659 people attending adult education schools.
He added that 501,111 teachers are teaching in 34,749 schools. While 236,655 male teachers are working in 16,039 boys schools, 264,456 female teachers are imparting education in girls schools.
“The Ministry of Education has completed all preparations to welcome the new school year with strategic plans to make it a successful one,” he said.
He added that all schools have been supplied with the syllabus for the year.
Meanwhile, teachers and students in Riyadh will have to arrive at schools in the new academic year 15 minutes before they used to come during the past years to avoid traffic snags. The provincial directorate of education has announced that all schools will start at 6.30 a.m. instead of 6.45 a.m. The new timing will, however, be effective from Sept. 15.
As schools will have a new weekend schedule, there is enthusiasm and curiosity among parents, teachers and students. While students are gearing up for Sunday-Thursday classes, the new schedule comes as a damper for those parents who have half-day work on Saturday. This does not synchronize with schools.
Jeddah schoolteachers are meeting on Saturday and are likely to take a formal decision on the new schedule