We continue to work closely with ministries of education and governments to ensure you are kept updated with what’s happening across the MENA region and the impact of these changes on your students. We hope to work together to strengthen education internationally. Kindly see below country updates across the MENA region.

Bahrain: The academic term has ended for government schools and will end for universities as scheduled this week. 

Egypt: Schools and universities have been closed since mid-March and will not reopen at this stage. 

Kingdom of Saudi Arabia: The Kingdom has suspended in-attendance education activities in all schools, universities and educational institutions as of March until further notice and directed all educational institutions to implement distance learning through online platforms.

Kuwait: Studies are to resume in August, with no intention to end the school year.

Morocco: The country has been in complete lockdown since 20 March with confinement due to end on 10 June.

Oman: Online education has been suspended, all students will be promoted to their next level unless students are failing three or more subjects, then each case will be considered separately.

Qatar: The Ministry of Education announced that schools will reopen after the summer as per the original academic calendar.

UAE: Dubai schools are to open in September after the summer break.

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.

Update: Foreign nationals stranded in the UK can apply for a visa extension until 31 July 2020. This may impact students currently in the UK studying or having recently finished their course.

As global travel and public health restrictions begin to lift, UKVI is beginning a phased approach to resuming services, where local conditions allow. This will begin from 1 June 2020. Given the impact across the global network, this process will take time. Not all UKVI services will be available immediately, or at full capacity. Services will reopen initially in a small number of locations, where local restrictions allow.

Visa Application Centres (VAC) are being opened when it is safe, and customers and staff are protected. Key factors include:

• local public health and travel restrictions, to ensure staff and customers are able to move freely and safely
• our commercial partners’ ability to resource and manage VAC locations, as well as courier documents
• UKVI staffing capacity and logistics, to assess applications received from those locations

All visa customers should be aware of new health measures at the UK border. These are in place to protect the public. Everyone, regardless of their nationality or visa status, should check GOV.UK to ensure they are aware of these new measures before travelling. 

IELTS

IELTS tests have been affected in all countries due to Covid–19. For the latest updates, please visit: https://www.ielts.org/news/2020/covid19-information-for-our-global-test-taker-community.

An IELTS Counselling service has been launched to help students achieve the score they require. This is a free service from the British Council, aiming to help test-takers achieve the scores they need through one-on-one virtual sessions. The IELTS Counselling services is currently available in UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

What to expect from the British Council IELTS Counselling service? 

An English level check for all four skills, composed of:

• An online English reading and listening diagnostic test
• A writing and speaking diagnostic test with a British Council teacher 
• Detailed feedback on your writing and speaking tests from a British Council teacher
• A personalised Learning Plan from your IELTS counsellor
• 30-minute regular check-in calls with your personal counsellor to follow up on progress and provide additional information
• Further assistance and guidance with your IELTS Exam booking and results collection.

For more information visit https://www.britishcouncil.ae/en/exam/ielts/prepare/counselling-service 

IELTS Indicator, on the other hand, is an online test that can be taken from home. The test includes four skills – Listening, Reading, Writing and Speaking. Performance will be marked by examiners and results will be ready within seven days. The Academic test is available for a limited time while IELTS testing is currently suspended due to Covid-19. Educational providers can use IELTS Indicator to help them measure the English language ability of future students while IELTS testing is suspended. The IELTS Indicator Academic test occurs once a week. The test in available in the following MENA countries: Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates.

More information can be found on British Council websites as well as IELTS.Org

EGYPT:

School/university closures and examinations

Schools and universities have been closed since mid-March and will not reopen at this stage. 

For schools, students up to grade 9 have submitted research projects online, with results currently being announced. Grades 10 and 11 were assessed online through Ministry given tablets. As for final year students (thanawaya Amma – equivalent to grade 12), they will undertake their final paper exams from 21 June until 21 July. The Ministry has declared that all safety measures will be taken to protect students including social distancing, proper ventilation and temperature checks. Assessments will cover curriculum up until 15 March, which was the last day of face-to-face teaching.

For university students, most UGs will be undertaking research projects and some will be undertaking online assessments. This is left to the discretion of the faculty and institution. The graduating class will be paper assessed but the decision has not yet been finalised regarding dates.

Because of the continuation of Covid-19, the Minister of Education and Technical Education, Dr Tarek Shawki has declared that he is presenting a model of blended learning for the new academic year where the student will go to school two days a week and work online for the remaining three days. This is awaiting Parliamentary approval.

The Supreme Council of Universities and the Ministry of Higher Education have not yet declared a date for the new academic year for all universities in Egypt (Government, Private nor international branch campuses).

Remote teaching is currently taking place across the country, although there is still a mixed picture across the country in terms of capability of schools and teachers to deliver lessons remotely (e.g. internet access, availability of suitable platforms, individual skills).

Contact

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

KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA

As of 1 July 2020, Saudi Arabia will introduce measures to support the economy, and will increase VAT from 5 to 15 per cent and suspend the cost of living allowance for Saudi nationals. Tuition fees, school fees and training will be subject to 15 per cent VAT. Other complex funding arrangements such as grants and sponsorships may also face challenges.

School/university closures and examinations

Saudi Arabia has announced that there will be cancellation, extension or delays in some capital expenditure for a number of government agencies and reduced initiatives as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. It is not yet clear what impact this will have on education sector expenditure and scholarship programs going forward.

Scholarships

The Minister of Education has issued a new decision to temporarily stop a scholarship program related to teacher development (Khebrat). It is understood that the program will be stopped until further notice due to budget reasons.

Contact Information

For more information and insights about the situation in KSA, please contact Rizwan Safdar, Project Manager, KSA (Rizwan.Safdar@sa.britishcouncil.org)

KUWAIT:

School/university closures and examinations

The Minister of Education and the Kuwaiti Minister of Higher Education, Dr. Saud Al-Harbi, affirmed the commitment of the Cabinet’s decision regarding the disruption of studies for schools, universities and government and private colleges. Study is to be resumed on Tuesday 4 August.

The Minister told Kuwait News Agency (KUNA) last week that the Ministry of Education has been tasked with preparing detailed and organizational decisions to implement this decision after the repercussions of Covid-19, and in implementation of the precautionary measures taken by all sectors of the state concerned to confront this pandemic. He explained that all options are available, noting that there is no intention to end the academic year and that he will submit a report to the cabinet on assessing the situation and future scenarios in the middle of July.

There are extensive and continuous meetings with the Council of officials to discuss the Ministry’s preparations and the latest developments on the educational scene for the return of study according to the plan in place, pointing to concern for the speedy completion of the second stage of the operational plan to activate e-learning in preparation for uploading the materials recorded on the website and launching the educational platform.

He affirmed the Ministry’s keenness on the interest of its children, achieving justice and equality for all, and achieving the highest benefit from modern technological means according to the latest developments in applying the principle of e-learning and learning to serve the educational process in the country, especially amid the current circumstances the world as a whole is experiencing as a result of the effects of (Corona).

Other Insights: Media

Studies to resume in August 

Contact Information

For more information and insights about the situation in Kuwait, please contact Rasha Osman, Project Manager, Higher Education (Rasha.Osman@britishcouncil.org)

MOROCCO

School/university closures and examinations

Schools and universities in Morocco have been closed since 10 March and will remain closed for the remainder of this academic year. Morocco’s Minister of Education Saaid Amzazi has announced the official cancellation of all final exams during the 2019-2020 academic year, except for first and second years of baccalaureate levels. Students of the national and regional baccalaureate will sit exams 3-8 July and 4-5 September 2020 respectively. Final regional and national baccalaureate exams will take into account only lessons that were completed before 14 March, before the national shift to remote education.

Higher education institutions will be flexible with their examination schedules and can determine the exact dates based on their circumstances and the difficulty of managing student mobility under emergency health conditions. University students will start taking exams in September, and classes for the 2020-2021 academic year will begin in October.

Higher education institutions that offer limited-access programs, such as professional bachelor’s degrees and master’s degrees will organize the access exams in mid-July.

Moroccan students who are enrolled in universities abroad but got stranded in Morocco will be able to take their exams in Morocco and do not have to travel to complete their academic year. The decision came after deliberations between the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and foreign embassies in Morocco.

Online and remote education provision

Since school closures, students were urged to continue their classes remotely via Television. Lessons are broadcast on four national channels allocated to primary, secondary and university levels. 

The ministry is doubling efforts to create content for all education levels (especially national exams levels), and teachers are encouraged to contribute by submitting content and other learning proposals to Telmid Tice. In addition, Massar platform is facilitating direct communication between teachers and students and updating parents on remote learning options.

Contact Information

For more information, kindly contact Kenza ElMohajir, Project Manager, English and Education (Kenza.ElMohajir@britishcouncil.org.ma)

QATAR:

School/university closures and examinations

The Minister of Education and Higher Education H.E, Dr. Mohammed bin Abdul Wahed Al Hammadi, has issued a ministerial decision for the academic year 2019-2020. The dates for the second-round examination for all grades will be 23 August to 31 August 2020. Staff will return to schools from 19 August 2020. Classes will begin for students for the 2020-2021 academic year from 1 September 2020.

Any rule that violates the provisions of this decision shall be cancelled. All competent authorities, each within its jurisdiction, shall implement this decision, and it shall be enforced from the date of its issuance.

Other insights (Media)

https://twitter.com/Qatar_Edu/status/1262420915549351937

Contact Information

For more information, you may contact Paula Jensch, Project Coordinator Qatar, (Paula.Jensch@qa.britishcouncil.org)

UAE:

School/ University closures and examinations

There have been no changes to the original dates announced earlier. More than one million pupils in government and private schools will start their summer break from 2 July as scheduled, whilst 9 July will be the last day at work for teachers and other staff. 

Online and remote education provision:

Schools in the UAE have adopted new methods of teaching using a mix of assignments and live broadcasts from teachers since March, when the scale of the outbreak became clear. 

Scholarships:

Current scholarship students are studying online as long as needed. All scholarship providers in the UAE follow the ministry of education guidelines. There are no new scholarship students, however this will be assessed in July 2020.

Other insights (Media)

• Dubai schools to open in September after summer break
• UAE schools ensure Year 13 students are not left behind
• Revealed: How UAE schools will hold exams online
• Virtual or real learning? UAE schools prepare plans for post Covid-19 reopening 
• what will COVID-19 mean for TNE in the Middle East?
• Coronavirus: Dubai coaching classes set to reopen, but at 50%capacity
• UAE schools welcome 3-minute lessons on Covid -19

Contact Information

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

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 Dina Kanan - dina.kanan@ae.britishcouncil.org