Hope you are keeping safe. Kindly see below the latest edition of country updates across the MENA on latest news regarding education in the region.

Visas and Immigration

UK visa services have now resumed across all visa application centres in the Gulf. Appointments are currently limited, the Priority Visa service is only available in Gulf states with the exception of locations on the UK’s travel ban list. The Super Priority Visa Service is not yet available in any location. Services and appointment availability are being kept under regular review. Our current service standard for all visit and student visas is 15 working days. UKVI is (temporarily) issuing students with a 90-day vignette to travel and collect their BRP in the UK, instead of the usual 30-day vignette.

More information can be found here: https://www.vfsglobal.co.uk/en

Advice on entering the UK and self-isolation requirements:

https://www.gov.uk/uk-border-control

Update on National Restrictions:

Going to school or college:

Primary schools, secondary schools, and further education colleges reopened on 8^th March. In the circumstances, it is not possible for exams in the summer to go ahead. This year’s 2021 exams approach for GCSE’s, AS and A levels will require teachers to submit grades by 18 June 2021.

Going to university:

All students who have not yet returned to campus and in-person teaching will be able to do from 17^th May, at the earliest. This is in line with Step 3 of the UK Government’s roadmap where restrictions will be further eased. An estimated 49% of students are already eligible to return to in-person teaching, subject to decisions by their institutions.

On return, all students and staff are encouraged to take three supervised tests at an asymptomatic testing site on campus, where available. Students will also have access to home testing kits throughout the summer term through both the Government’s offer of free rapid LFD tests twice weekly to everyone in England, and ‘University Collect’ services, under which universities will distribute tests on campus.

All tests will be free, and all students and staff who test positive from an LFD test will need to self-isolate for 10 days, unless they receive a negative PCR test within two days.

Further information can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/remaining-university-students-to-return-to-campus-from-step-3-of-the-roadmap-no-earlier-than-17-may

Travel advice

For travel advice, please visit https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice. We encourage institutions who are considering travelling to sign up for alerts. We are also keeping up to date with local government websites for any updates and restrictions, so kindly feel free to contact us if you need any information and we will refer you to the relevant websites.

IELTS

IELTS testing is available across the UAE. The British Council’s priority is always to ensure the safety and well-being of our test takers, employees, and the communities in which we operate. We are committed to protecting the health of our test takers, while also trying to minimise disruption to life-changing opportunities for international higher education and migration. For this reason, we are scrupulously following the instructions from authorities and are managing our activities according to official guidelines. https://www.britishcouncil.ae/en/resume-your-ielts-journey-today . For information on test availability please visit: https://www.britishcouncil.ae/en/exam/ielts/dates-locations

For more MENA updates, webinars, market insights and other IES services, please go to your alerts settings and select updates from MENA. If you have any feedback or require any additional information, please contact me on dina.kanan@ae.britishcouncil.org

Thank you and stay safe

Dina Kanan

UAE Manager, International Education Services

Bahrain:

New law to regulate online education in Bahrain wins unanimous support

“…the new law has been backed by the Education and Training Quality Authority (BQA), the Bahrain Polytechnic and the Applied Science University, though they have sought amendments to include private schools in the framework.

The proposal was spearheaded by Parliament Speaker Fouzia Zainal alongside four other MPs including committee chairman Ahmed Al Ansari.”

https://www.zawya.com/mena/en/life/story/New_law_to_regulate_online_education_in_Bahrain_wins_unanimous_support-SNG_207885052/

Contact Information

For more information about Egypt, please contact Kawthar AlArab, Projects Manager Sahar (Kawthar.AlArab@britishcouncil.org.bh)

Egypt:

https://education-services.britishcouncil.org/news/market-news/minister-of-higher-education-announces-egyptian-scientific-research-institutions

Contact Information

For more information about Egypt, please contact Sahar Khamis, Head of Education Programmes, Egypt (Sahar.khamis@britishcouncil.org.eg)

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Establishing working groups for scientific research, innovation and cross-border education links between the KSA and the UK.

The Ministry of Education has revealed the establishment of working groups for scientific research, innovation and cross-border education between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. With the aim of determining the priorities of scientific research and innovation for the university education institutions in the two countries, the participation of the Saudi-British experience in the marketing and internationalization of scientific research, and the number of academic cooperation opportunities for cross-border education.

The Deputy Minister of Education for Universities, Research and Innovation, Dr. Muhammad bin Ahmed Al-Sudairy, inaugurated the activities of the "virtual round table meeting for university education leaders in the KSA and the UK", in the presence of the Special Envoy of the British Prime Minister in the Kingdom for Education and Trade Professor Sir Steve Smith, Head of International Education in the Kingdom And more than 100 senior education experts and specialists from university education institutions in the two countries. The HE leaders roundtable was organised by British Council Saudi Arabia in partnership with Ministry of education.

The meeting discussed opportunities and challenges for academic and research cooperation, the exchange of policies and knowledge, and the sharing of best practices and experiences for cross-border education. The agenda also included two sessions, the first entitled: “Research and Innovation: Policies and Priorities for International Cooperation” Priorities for scientific research and innovation, and innovative ways to enhance international cooperation in this field. The field, opportunities and challenges of partnerships between institutions of university education and industry, as well as the marketing of scientific research and emerging projects, with the participation of several universities; King Saud University, King Abdulaziz University, Umm Al-Qura University, Newcastle University, Manchester University and Oxford University. While the second session dealt with: “Transnational Education: Internationalization of Education - Opportunities and Challenges” the new university system in the Kingdom, innovative methods of international cooperation, virtual cooperation opportunities in light of the Corona pandemic, and investment in university education opportunities and challenges, with the participation of Imam Abdul Rahman bin Faisal University, Princess Nora University, University of Tabuk, Queen's University Belfast, University of Reading and the UUKI.

It is reported that the Saudi-British Scientific Research and Innovation Working Group is working on developing initiatives and supporting scientific research and innovation projects. To provide more cooperation opportunities within the framework of the education partnership between the two countries, in addition to exchanging policies and best practices in the field of scientific research and innovation, and setting up a plan of activities to support aspects of cooperation, while the Cross-border Education Working Group works on developing initiatives and supporting cross-border education opportunities; To provide more academic partnerships between the two countries, in addition to analyzing cooperation opportunities for cross-border education, while developing a plan of activities to support partnerships in this field, and sharing policies, experiences and best practices.

https://www.moe.gov.sa/ar/mediacenter/MOEnews/Pages/gr1442-200.aspx

Contact Information

For more information about KSA, please contact Rizwan Safdar, Project Manager, (Rizwan.Safdar@sa.britishcouncil.org)

UAE:

Universities in UAE cut fees by up to 50 per cent to attract students: Some universities in the UAE have reduced fees by up to 50 per cent to help families cope with the financial strain caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The discounts come as higher education institutions try to hang on to the best talent and attract high achievers in a time of financial uncertainty. Last year, many universities in Dubai cut fees to ease financial pressures on students and their families.Now that trend is being seen widely across the country.

UAE: Weekly PCR tests for Dubai school staff, bi-weekly COVID-19 test for Sharjah school staff

https://gulfnews.com/uae/uae-weekly-pcr-tests-for-dubai-school-staff-bi-weekly-covid-19-test-for-sharjah-school-staff-1.1618075867344

Contact Information

For more information, please contact Dina Kanan, UAE Manager, International Education Services (dina.kanan@ae.britishcouncil.org)