Ministry adapts study plan, tackles absence phenomenon effectively

• The source strongly denied “facilitating the end-of-year exams in line with students’ levels after absences have increased during the current year.

• The primary school exams will run until next week and students’ group vacation begins with transportation exams on May 15, differing from the ministry’s end-of-school date on June 6.

• The end-of-year vacation for educational and administrative bodies will begin on June 6, for kindergartens and July 1, for the remaining stages and technical directions. Those assigned to the second round will have their holiday on July 15.

As schools approach the conclusion of the 2023-2024 academic year, with the final days of work for middle and secondary levels this week, an educational source has confirmed that “the persistent issue of student absence, prevalent since the start of the last month of Ramadan, remains a significant challenge for the ministry.”

Despite this challenge, the curricula for the second semester remained uninterrupted, with no lessons suspended, and the study plan was executed across all the subjects and educational stages as per the designated timelines.

The source informed Al-Rai newspaper that “the ministry took the phenomenon into consideration at the beginning of the current academic year by harmonizing the study plan, considering holidays and vacations, and repeated cases of absence before and after holidays.”

The source strongly denied “facilitating the end-of-year exams in line with students’ levels after absences have increased during the current year.”

The source emphasized, “Preparing the test forms, including both backup and original copies, at each year’s level, takes into account the individual differences among students and does not deviate from the question banks uploaded annually on the ministry’s website.” The source also urged students to “disregard rumors and focus on preparing thoroughly for the tests during this period.”

In addition, primary schools commenced their brief examinations yesterday and will continue until the end of next week.

The group vacation for their students is expected to start with the commencement of transportation classes exams on May 15, which contrasts with the ministry’s set date for the end of primary school students’ workday on June 6.

Following this, the end-of-year vacation for educational and administrative bodies will begin on Thursday, June 6, for kindergartens and Monday, July 1, for the remaining stages and technical directions. Those assigned to the second round will have their holiday on Monday, July 15.

Rotation of committee heads, observers

The educational districts are awaiting the public education sector’s decision regarding the number of twelfth-grade exam committees, based on the number of students in each committee, and the subsequent procedures to be followed. This includes whether it will involve external rotation of committee heads and observers or just internal rotation.

It’s worth noting that while the ministerial decision mentioned the rotation of committee heads, the ministry was not required to enforce external rotation. However, the anti-fraud team recommended that external rotation become the norm rather than the exception.

Minister’s inspection

On Sunday, Dr. Adel Al-Adwani, the Minister of Education and Higher Education and Scientific Research, inspected the Mubarak Al-Kabeer Educational Zone.

During the visit, he met with its administration to discuss various educational matters, including the issue of employees in schools who have not activated the fingerprint system for attendance and departure. Educational sources have suggested that the actual implementation of the fingerprint system for school employees, linked with the Civil Service Commission, will officially begin at the start of the next academic year.