Saudi Gazette report

RIYADH — The new school year in 11 regions of Saudi Arabia will commence on August 24. Tuesday saw the return of educational supervisors and administrative staff members to schools in the regions across the Kingdom except Makkah and Madinah as part of early preparations for the start of the new school year.

Teachers at all levels are scheduled to return on Sunday, August 17 in these regions. However, educational supervisors and administrative staff members in Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah, and Taif, will return to schools on Sunday, August 17, and teachers on August 24. Classes in schools in these regions will commence on August 31.

The Ministry of Education has set the weekly class periods for public schools during the new academic year. The curriculum guide indicates that the number of classes in all elementary school grades will be 33 per week, with 8 subjects for the early grades (first, second, and third), in addition to student activities, and 10 subjects for the upper grades (fourth, fifth, and sixth), in addition to student activities.

In the intermediate level, the number of weekly classes for the three grades will be 35, with 10 subjects in the first and second grades, in addition to student activities. In the third grade, there will be 11 subjects in addition to student activities. For the secondary phase, under the general track system, the number of classes for all three grades will be 32. The number of subjects in the first secondary grade for the first semester will be 8, while in the second and third grades the number of subjects will be 7 and 10 respectively. In the second semester of the academic year, the number of subjects will be 11 in the first grade, 9 in the second grade, and 12 in the third grade.