Hope you are all keeping well and safe. We are working tirelessly to ensure that you are kept updated with what’s happening across the MENA region and the impact of these changes on your students. Kindly see below for country updates across the MENA region. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or require additional information.

Bahrain: The Ministry of Education has confirmed they will start the next academic year as planned on 16 September.

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. All educational institutions have been directed to implement distance learning through online platforms.

Kuwait: National Bureau for Academic Accreditation and Education Quality Assurance (NBAQ) has published an updated list of approved UK universities for undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

Morocco: While Morocco’s state of emergency will remain in place until at least 10 July, the lockdown started easing on 10 June. Due to the regional disparities in the epidemiological situation, the lockdown measures differ from one region to another.

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

UAE: The UAE academic year is scheduled to start on 30 August. The Ministry of Education (MOE) in UAE announced that the EmSAT examination, required for college admission decisions within UAE, alongside scholarship decisions to study aboard, resumed in June.

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.

VACs 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.

We appreciate your patience as UKVI start to resume services.

IELTS

ELTS tests have gradually started resuming with health and safety precautions. For the latest updates on test availability, 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 result they require. IELTS counselling is a free service from British Council, aiming to help test-takers achieve the scores they need through one-to-one, on-going 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, including an online English reading and listening diagnostic test, and a writing and speaking diagnostic test 
• Detailed feedback on your writing and speaking test performance from a British Council teacher
• A personalised tailor-made 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 assesses four skills – listening, reading, writing and speaking. Performance will be marked by examiners and results will be ready within seven days. The test is available for a limited time while IELTS testing is currently suspended due to Covid-19. Education providers can use the IELTS Indicator to help them measure the English language ability of future students. The IELTS Indicator Academic test occurs once a week.

For information on test availability please visit www.ieltsindicator.com

Update on Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS)

In line with UKVI’s decision to reopen some Visa Application Centres, the ATAS scheme began to accept new applications on the online portal from 1 June 2020. They will be working to normal processing time and are hoping to provide a decision to the student within 30 working days from receipt of application.

We ask that HEIs and students consider the following before making an application:  

• Will the student be physically entering the UK to begin their course?
• Is the course start date confirmed?

If the course will initially begin through remote learning and the student will not be entering the UK, please do not submit an ATAS application until it is required.

Please also continue to consider Export Control legislation when providing remote learning.  

For more MENA updates, webinars, market insights and other International Education 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 at dina.kanan@ae.britishcouncil.org

Thank you and stay safe

Dina Kanan

UAE Manager, International Education Services

BAHRAIN:

The Ministry of Education has confirmed they will start the next academic year as planned (administration and academic staff returning 6 September and students 16 September). They maintain that they will review this decision periodically and will also take all precautionary measures needed in response to Covid-19. Distance learning will continue as required.

Contact

For more information about Bahrain, please contact Kawthar AlArab, Projects Manager, Bahrain Kawthar.AlArab@britishcouncil.org.bh

EGYPT:

The Egyptian Prime Minister chaired a meeting to discuss how to deal with the next academic year in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Online and remote education provision

The Prime Minister indicated that prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, the government had started to pay clear attention to e-learning. It has been advised that both e-learning and a strong technological infrastructure are currently being developed.

In light of Covid-19, citizens’ acceptance of online education has increased significantly. The Minister of Education noted that investments were already being made in infrastructure, as well as in digital content and curriculum. The Ministry now has the digital library "https://study.ekb.eg/", which contains interactive curricula for grades "KG1" to "G12", in both Arabic and English. An educational platform with virtual classes is also available, used by 13.5 million students and 1.3 million teachers. This platform is used for social and scientific communication, while research projects can also be submitted.

The Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research presented a proposal for the new academic year suggesting a hybrid model. This would combine face-to-face and distance learning systems. This contributes to reducing student numbers, while still utilising the experience of faculty members.

The Minister of Higher Education explained that the plan for reopening includes three processes: 

• learning
• evaluation
• activities and services

In the learning phase, students will be divided into small teaching groups. All precautionary measures will be taken, including disinfecting the halls and classrooms daily, as well as students, faculty and staff wearing protective masks. The rate of face-to-face and distance learning will be calculated at this stage according to the knowledge and skill required for the different sectors and colleges. 

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:

Scholarships 2020-2021:

The Ministry of Higher Education will soon be announcing the scholarships’ scheme for the coming academic year. Scholarships could first be offered to graduates of foreign private schools in Kuwait, followed by students of government schools when they complete the academic year (around December 2020). Students can apply to university before graduating to secure their place, and later apply for scholarships when they have their school results. It is expected there will be 4,000 internal and 2,000 external scholarships.  

Other Insights: Media

National Bureau for Academic Accreditation and Education Quality Assurance (NBAQ) has published an updated list of approved UK universities for undergraduates and postgraduates courses. The list can be viewed here: http://nbaq.edu.kw/search/allpdfs.html

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 are closed since March 10^th 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 the first and second years of the baccalaureate levels. Students of the national and regional baccalaureate exams will sit for exams on July 3rd-8th and September 4-5th, 2020 respectively. Final regional and national baccalaureate exams will take into account only lessons that were completed by March 14, before the national shift to remote education..

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

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

Scholarships:

Current scholarship students are studying online as long as needed. All scholarship providers in the UAE including Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, Abu Dhabi Police, Department of Education and Knowledge, Dubai Police, Ministry of Presidential Affairs, UAE G.H.Q Armed Forces to name a few follow the ministry of education guidelines. No new scholarship students. This will be assessed in July 2020.

Other insights (Media)

No decision yet regarding start of on-campus classes in UAE schools

Short assessments, sample tests: Exams in UAE go online

Coronavirus: Grade 12 exam dates for UAE public, private schools issued

Contact Information

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