Saudi Arabia: School hours adjusted to start at 9am

Abu Dhabi: Saudi intermediate and high school hours have been revised to start at 9am instead of 7am, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Education said.

“The change was inspired by convenience of students, their parents and teachers,” the spokesperson said.

School hours in Saudi government and international schools are usually from 7am to 3.30pm.

Saudi Arabia will continue distance learning measures for students during the first seven weeks of the new academic year and will review a return to schools later on, according to a statement from the Kingdom’s Ministry of Education.

Saudi Arabia suspended all schools, universities and educational institutions in the Kingdom since March 9 as part of efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus outbreak and instituted distance learning as an alternative.

In April, the Kingdom’s Minister of Education, Dr. Hamad bin Mohammed Al Al Sheikh, said distance learning could eventually be a strategic choice for Saudi Arabia and not just an alternative following the coronavirus crisis.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, Saudi Arabia’s Minister of Education has been managing “virtual schools” and distance learning during the suspension period.

Saudi Arabia reported a drop in COVID-19 cases with 1,019 new infections detected in 24 hours, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the Kingdom to 311,855, the Ministry of Health announced on Thursday.