Cairo: Over 3.5 million students of the elementary schools and kindergarten children Sunday returned to in-person classes across Saudi Arabia for the first time in nearly two years amid precautions against COVID-19.
Their return also comes more than four months after students at higher education levels attended classes in the kingdom.
The schoolchildren and kindergarteners are allowed back to classes without mandatory vaccination, unlike the older students.
However, designating lines have been marked on floors of the schools to regulate the entry and exit of students to ensure social distancing and limit the spread of the COVID-19. Face masks are mandatory for students, teachers and administrative staff.
As part of precautions, the usual morning lines are cancelled for students who would head directly to their classes. Also, extracurricular activities that do not guarantee distancing are ruled out. Classes and utilities of schools are to be sterilised daily.
Earlier this month, the Saudi ministries of education and health said that the decision to resume in-person classes is due to success of earlier return of intermediate and secondary school students to class attendance and "the kingdom's efforts to reach high herd immunity".
Nonetheless, remote learning via different government platforms continue for students who cannot go to school on health grounds.
The new academic year started in Saudi Arabia in late August with a revival of in-person classes for intermediate and secondary school students after a halt of more than a year prompted by the COVID-19 outbreak
The Education Ministry has made vaccination against COVID-19 mandatory for accessing all public and private schools, universities and technical training institutions.
The kingdom launched mass vaccination against the virus in mid-December 2020.
