Over 6m students head to schools as classes kick off in Saudi Arabia

The new academic year 2017-18 kicked off on Sunday with more than 6 million students in different levels of public education attending the first day of classes all over the Kingdom.
More than half-a-million teachers were on hand to welcome the students and ensure an orderly educational process.
In the Saudi capital, Minister of Education Ahmed Al-Issa visited two schools on the first day of classes, expressing pleasure over the level of attendance and readiness on the first day of the academic year. At the Al-Mughira School, he inaugurated a program for first-grade students.
He said Saudi Arabia deserves schools and universities that will prepare students to compete at the “world level.”
“Our country deserves to have an advanced educational system enjoying creative capacities (and) bright minds ... to provide the best opportunities to our sons and daughters to enable them compete,” he said.
The minister said students should commit to Islamic teachings and community values, preserve Saudi Arabia’s achievements and work hand-in-hand with teachers and other students.
He also lauded the role of families in making the work of schools and universities a success.
Moreover, teachers and students worked with the Department of Traffic in the Riyadh region on traffic awareness by distributing roses and leaflets.
Officers and staff of the department were deployed at many intersections and roads to guide drivers and passengers in compliance with traffic regulations.
In Qassim, more than 186,000 students trooped off to 1,726 schools for boys and girls at the kindergarten, primary, intermediate and secondary levels.
The first day of classes was characterized by a “disciplined start in the early hours of the first school day.” The highest degree of readiness was achieved after a series of preparatory meetings.
Director General of Qassim Education Abdullah bin Ibrahim Al-Rukayan, also the head of the school preparedness committee, chaired a number of meetings in connection with the current academic year.
In Asir, 46,000 students attended the first day of classes, with Prince Mansour bin Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz, deputy governor of the Asir region, saying that teachers carry a noble message and play an important role in the education of young people.
He attended the first day of classes at an elementary school in Abha, in the presence of Asir Director General of Education Jalawi bin Mohammed Al-Karkman, who said that ten school buildings have been completed in conjunction with the beginning of the new academic year.
He said that the buildings will contribute to the reduction of rented buildings and provide an attractive environment for the employees and teachers in general, and students in particular.
More than 15,000 teachers attended a series of training programs, most notably on Canadian experiences in education, the skills required for new teachers, and reading proficiency, evaluation methods, among others.