Schools reopen: 5m begin new academic year

Around five million students were gearing up on Sunday to attend the first day of school for the new academic year, amid fears by parents about non-working air conditioners, lack of cleanliness in classrooms and a delay in receiving books.
The Ministry of Education, however, assured the parents that all preparations were done well in advance to create a “safe school environment” and that the first day of school (on Sunday), after a long vacation, will be a pleasant experience for students, staff and parents. 
Director of “Jahez” program Ahmed Al-Ghamdi said the ministry has provided all books to schools and that the ministry seeks to activate an electronic technical environment. “Students’ talent will be developed through electronic curriculum and educational interactive services, in addition to traditional ways of education,” he said. 
Jeddah schools will receive more than 650,000 students on the first day of schools, which have more than 130,000 teachers. Around one million students are ready for school in Riyadh after a long holiday, but parents are concerned about possible obstacles in the beginning of the new academic year, as it is always the case ever year.
However, officials in the Riyadh Educational Directorate (RED) dismissed the apprehensions. “The pupils will receive their textbooks on Sunday, around a million chairs will be distributed among more than 3,000 schools in Riyadh,” said RED Director Mohammad Al-Rashed.
“The management organized hundreds of training programs in different neighborhoods of Riyadh,” he said.
Al-Rashed called on all the school principals to distribute timetables to teachers so that textbooks are handed over to students and classes begin without delay. 
Assistant Director for School Affairs Hamed Al-Shunaiber said the directorate issued guidelines to 223 teachers who were appointed last August.