Thank you for attending the British Council / BUILA MENA Covid 19 update for UK education sector on the 7th May - Please see the recording HERE 
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The following information is the current regional news that was presented by Dina Kanan, UAE Manager, International Education Services, British Council.

The British Council is working tirelessly in the global fight against COVID-19.  We have always supported the sector and aim on keeping you updated with what’s happening across the MENA region and the impact of these changes on your students. We value our partnerships and collaborations and our commitment to you will remain of high priority. We hope to work together to strengthen education internationally. We’re thinking of you during these unprecedented times and will share updates with you on regular basis.

Kindly see below country updates across the MENA region. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions or require additional information.

Bahrain: Schools and universities will remain closed for the remainder of this academic year.

Egypt: For schools, students up to grade 9 will be submitting a research project online.  For Grades 10 and 11, they will undertake an online final exam.  As for final year students (equivalent to grade 12), they will undertake their final exams during June and July.

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: Schools are under complete shutdown since late February 2020. More updates to follow.

Morocco: The national examination was scheduled to take place in June before the pandemic outbreak, and no decision has yet been taken by the Ministry of National Education on how and when it will take place in the current situation.

Oman: Suspension of online education. All students will be promoted for next level unless students are failing three or more subjects then each case will be considered separately.

Qatar: All schools and universities were informed by the government to shut down from March 9 till further notice and online classes began from 22 March for all public and private schools/ universities.

UAE:  All schools and higher education institutions in the UAE remain closed until further notice. Students and parents are waiting for MOE and KHDA updates regarding the new academic year. No decision has been made as of yet.

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.

Home Office Guidance on COVID-19 for sponsors: Universities can continue to sponsor existing Tier 4 students who are continuing their studies through distance learning, whether they are in the UK or another country. If a student has permanently withdrawn from their studies or deferred their studies for reasons which are not related to covid-19, they must report this as usual. Universities do not need to withdraw sponsorship for new students who have been issued a Tier 4 visa but are distance learning because they have been unable to travel to the UK.  New international students who have not yet applied for a visa but want to start a course by distance learning do not require sponsorship under Tier 4. This is because they do not need to travel to the UK. They do not need to tell the Home Office when students have moved to distance learning. These arrangements will apply until 31 May, when they will be reviewed. 

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

IELTS Counselling service has been launched to help students achieve the test they require. IELTS Indicator 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 britishcouncil websites as well as IELTS.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 me on dina.kanan@ae.britishcouncil.org

Thank you and stay safe

Dina Kanan
UAE Manager, International Education Services

 

BAHRAIN:

Coronavirus was first reported in Bahrain on 21 February 2020. By the end of that week, the number of cases grew to reach 26 and continued to escalate since. Although the numbers are growing, the majority are contained and controlled. The Government of Bahrain has implemented enhanced screening and quarantine measures, and there are substantial fines facing anyone breaking the laws on public safety and social distancing.

The Ministry of Education in Bahrain oversees all schools and educational institutions, private and public. Due to the outbreak of COVID-19, schools and universities have officially closed on 24 February 2020, and exams were cancelled. Online learning plans were introduced in March, with varying but similar approaches between public and private institutions.

A dedicated taskforce -The National Taskforce for Combating the Coronavirus (COVID-19)- was established under the leadership of the Crowne Prince. They are overseeing all government institutions and issuing regular public updates and press conferences.

Although the country is on lock down, there is no curfew. Ministries and government entities have 70-80% of their workforce working from home, while others work in offices. All businesses with no customer interaction can continue to work from their office, provided that they adhere to the public safety and social distancing regulations. Banks and other service businesses are operating on a smaller capacity and with controlled measures. Both government and private sectors have reinforced existing -and grew capacity for additional- online services.

Testing and treatment is widely available for all citizens and residents in Bahrain. In addition to the mandatory testing for returning travellers, a hotline and national mobile app were established to deal with COVID-19 cases, as well as random testing services across the entire country.

School/university closures and examinations

Schools and universities have been officially closed since 24 February 2020, and it is now clear that they will remain closed for the remainder of this academic year.

For public schools, all final exams have been cancelled and replaced with continuous assessment till end April 2020. Private schools have the option of following the continuous assessment model or conducting online examination; the Ministry of Education has given them the choice.

Results for public schools are expected to be announced between 15-21 June, and by end of June as well for private schools.

For public universities, two options were given to students: Stream A: no final exams, pass or fail given based on project work and assignments. GPA stays the same. Stream B: if they want to sit for finals, (e.g. to enhance GPA) exams will be offered in Sep 2020. For private universities, once again, the Higher Education Council gives them the option of following the same models offered by public universities or holding exams online.

Results for public universities are expected to be announced by end of July, and for private universities by July-August 2020.

Online and remote education provision

Online learning has been implemented for all public and private schools and universities. In addition, the Ministry of Education has broadcasted lessons at specific times on national television. Support is provided from schools for students facing access issues or difficulties.

Other insights (Media)

COVID-19 live updates from Bahrain can be found on the Ministry of Health website https://www.moh.gov.bh/?lang=en, which includes live cases update, news centre and lots of information and materials.

Contact Information

For more information, you may contact Kawthar AlArab, Projects Manager (kawthar.alarab@britishcouncil.org.bh)

 

EGYPT:

Egypt has a population of over 105 million which means that it is home to the largest education system in MENA region. Education is centralised, with the state having control over the curriculum, lesson plans and funding. We have enrolled approximately 22.5 m students in pre-university and 2.5 m at university UG and PG levels.

With the Covid-19 pandemic and increase in number of cases, the Egyptian Government declared school and university closure.  This took place in mid-March 2020 to date.  Also, a curfew went into effect to control the spread of the virus, by introduction of working from home by Government sector, which is approximately 6 m, as well as private sector, limiting opening of malls and public transport, delivery service only from restaurants, closure of mosques and churches…

In the recent 2 weeks, and with the start of the holy month of Ramadan, measures were relaxed a bit in terms of the curfew, but generally schools and universities remain closed. Government currently encouraging companies to resume work to drive the economy but ensuring social distancing and safety precautions.

School/university closures and examinations

Schools and universities will not be reopening at this stage.  For schools, students up to grade 9 will be submitting a research project on-line.  For Grades 10 and 11, they will undertake an on-line final exam.  As for final year students (thanawaya Amma – equivalent to grade 12), they will undertake their final exams during June and July.  Ministry has declared that all safety measures will be taken to protect students as social distancing, proper ventilation and temperature checks.

For university students, UGs will be undertaking research projects but for the graduating class no decision has yet been communicated by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research.  This will mean that students will be returning to their universities in the early fall.

Online and remote education provision

Remote teaching is 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).

Emergency childcare is being provided for key workers, such as doctors, nurses, teachers and supermarket staff, which also includes supporting children with their remote teaching programme, where relevant.

Other insights: Media

The Egyptian media since early March has focused on altering the general population of the needed precautions.  Egyptian Minister of Health has visited, China and Italy and offered medical supplies.  In recent weeks, medical supplies as masks and gowns have been sent by the Egyptian Government to the US and the UK.

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

School/university closures and examinations

The Kingdom had 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.

Online and remote education provision

More than 1.4 million university students in the Kingdom took over 223,000 tests remotely during the first week of exams, as education institutions remain closed as part of the government’s efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak. For more information: https://saudigazette.com.sa/article/592593/SAUDI-ARABIA/14mn-Saudi-universitystudents-take-223000-tests-remotely

Scholarships

Ministry of Education: 

The Minister of Education Dr. Hamad Bin Muhammad Al-Asheikh has issued a decision that orders continuing the payment of financial allocations, medical insurance, and treatment allowance to male and female scholarship students and their dependents. The minister has issued this decision, which included a number of exceptional measures, to address the conditions Saudi scholarship students and their dependents abroad due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The decision includes not suspending the payment to male and female scholarship students and their dependents, whatever the reason for suspension might be, and the payment of a financial llowance for a month to those who have left their residences, graduated and are still in the country of scholarship and are unable to return to the Kingdom .

Ministry of Health External Scholarship Announcement:

MOH opened scholarship applications for their employees starting from 1st April 2020 for doctors/Dentists and other Health professionals and made an internal announcement last month. More information will follow.

Saudi Arabian Cultural Bureau announcement for current sponsored Students:

Traditionally Saudi Arabia does not recognise "distance" or "on-line" learning however, Ministry of Education and SACB will allow current students who were on full time programmes that have switched to DOL methods due to COVID-19 to continue with their studies until the end of this academic year.  Financial Guarantees will be issued on a monthly basis to guarantee the quality of education.

Your Job First And Then Your Scholarship Program:

This program is currently on hold for 2020 and an announcement is expected in June/July.

All Other Scholarships in KSA:

There is no official announcement from Ministry of Education that how they would proceed for 2020 scholarships, Sponsored students’ (recipients of scholarships in 2020 in different Govt sectors) are awaiting updates however they are actively applying for the Universities and submitting their applications to their sponsorship/funding bodies.

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

Schools are under complete shutdown since late February 2020 due to COVID -19 and all governmental entities were also suspended from March 2020 till further notice. Later in March 2020 Ministry of Education announced the resume of current academic year for grade 12 will be August 2020 for 6 weeks and other grades start date will be late Sep 2020 for 6 weeks as well to complete the curriculum. However, the ministry didn’t mention the exams exact dates after curriculum completion, but it’s expected to be around Nov/Dec 2020. New academic year for all grades will take place on Dec 2020. 

 

Online and remote education provision

Private/International schools as immediate response created/activated their own e-learning platforms and asked the ministry to approve it so they can consider it as official way to complete the curriculum and finish the academic year on time (May/June 2020). Now the MOE approved the E-learning for the private/international schools on an optional basis and schools must provide evidences of signed parents consents agreeing on the selected option.

As for the local HEIs: E-Learning is also has been approved by the Ministry of Higher Education in the state of Kuwait as an “optional system for students and potential graduates who want to continue their studies through this system during the Spring 2019/2020 semester (MOHE decision No. 62 for the year 2020).

The only concern now is the accreditation of delivered online courses/semesters, is it going to be accepted/ recognized by the officials?? as the e learning was approved to be optional and not substitute to regular learning. On the other hand, MOHE finally revealed the expected date for the scholarship announcement (June 2020) for the 18-19 Students and Current Year 19-20 IGSCE Students who has been assessed and got their results  the but the ministry is planning to have another scholarship Plan on Dec 2020 for the government Students (Grade 12) after the curriculum completion in August as per the MOE Decision.

Meanwhile ministry coordinated with several cultural offices (International HEIs) to provide updates regarding the foundation year start dates and the English language new requirements so they can decide whether to proceed with the fixed dates of the scholarship announcement or change it according to the Cultural offices responses and updates.

Other insights: Media

https://news.kuwaittimes.net/website/minister-ku-union-mull-e-learning/ 

http://www.arabtimesonline.com/news/return-to-normal-life-necessary-govt-must-find-ways-to-ease-restrictions/

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

Morocco has been in lockdown since March 20^th with confinement due to end on May 20^th , but it remains to be seen whether Morocco will extend the confinement period.

School/university closures and examinations

Schools and universities in Morocco remain closed. The national Baccalaureate examination was scheduled to take place June 4^th to 8^th before the pandemic outbreak, and no decision has yet been taken by the Ministry of National Education on how and when it will take place in the current situation.

Online and remote education provision

Since school closures, The Ministry of National Education, Vocational Training, Higher Education, and Scientific Research urged the students to continue their classes remotely via

Television: Lessons broadcasted in 4 national channels allocated to primary, secondary and university levels;

Website TELMID Tice (https://soutiensco.men.gov.ma/) with tutoring of teachers through audio-visual content and links to learning support websites;Digital learning platform Taalim (http://www.taalimtice.ma/) offering digital content to support the lessons.

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 ElMohaiir, Project Manager, English and Education (Kenza.ElMohajir@britishcouncil.org.ma)

 

QATAR:

School/university closures and examinations

All schools and universities were informed by the government to shut down from March 9 till further notice and online classes began from 22 March for all public and private schools/ universities. The Ministry of Education and Higher Education has announced that the tests for the second semester of school students (day and adult education) for the 12th grade (high school diploma) for the 2019/2020 academic year will begin on June 1 and end on June 13. This came in a circular issued by the Ministry to the directors and principals of public and private high schools, in which it clarified the schedule of these tests. The Ministry pointed out that the exam of the elective subject (Business Administration, Arts, German, French, Japanese, and Information Technology) will be held on June 13. Universities replaced written exams with virtual assignments to compensate.

The Ministry of Education and Higher Education also announced the student evaluation policy for the end of the second semester exams of the 2019/2020 academic year for the distance learning system, from grades 1 to grade 11 (day schools). In this regard, the Ministry stated in a circular that this policy comes on the basis of the decision to resume studies with a distance learning system for day school students. The ministry noted that it was decided that the marks allocated to the end of the second semester of day schools will be dealt with according to the (distance learning) system as follows: https://www.iloveqatar.net/news/education/end-of-second-semester-exams-evaluation-policy-announced-by-ministry-of-education

The academic year of government schools will end as scheduled on June 21, 2020. Students of grades 1 to 11 will conclude their distance learning on May 7, 2020, while students of grade 12 will continue their distance learning until the end of the final examinations, which is June 13.

Online and remote education provision

The education affairs sector of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education has launched Mzeed Educational Platform with its various digital and interactive sources, prepared by a distinguished team of teachers, early education mentors and curriculum specialists. The Mzeed platform gives you quick and easy access to your learning resources such as your textbook, educational videos and more, with constantly updated content. The app includes various content for the first, second and twelfth grade levels such as the textbook in PDF format, and includes tools that allow students to put notes and highlight the topics and paragraphs they deem important, and other tools.

Other insights (Media)

Some universities based in Qatar have started announcing intake dates for the new semester and introducing virtual interviews and online applications process only.

Ministry of Education and Higher Education have also partnered with Doha Film Institute for Students to create short films based on life around COVID-19 to enhance creativity and engagement.

A new local university has been launched and open for registration from June 30. The university is called Lusail University. The university has strategic partnerships with regional and international universities, including Hassan II University in Casablanca in the Kingdom of Morocco, the University of Jordan in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, the Sorbonne University in France and the University of Sussex in Britain.

Contact Information

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

 

UAE:

School/university closures and examinations

All schools and higher education institutions in the UAE remain closed until further notice. Students and parents are waiting for MOE and KHDA updates regarding the new academic year. No decision has been made as of yet.

Online and remote education provision:

All students (all educational levels) in the UAE are currently studying online and the Ministry of Education is working on approving all online platforms.

Fawzia Gharib, assistant undersecretary of the Ministry of Education for the school operations sector in the UAE said that E-learning will continue into the next academic year if the COVID-19 crisis goes on. E-learning could continue as part of three scenarios devised by the Ministry of Education. The first where e-learning will remain 100 per cent and smart education will be the focus of education across the entire country, the second scenario is a transitional phase after the virus has dissipated at a rate ranging between 30-50 per cent and the third scenario includes the incorporation of both direct and distance learning.

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)

Exams such as IB, IGCSE and A-Levels have been cancelled because of the pandemic, some schools are instead holding smaller tests intermittently and doing away with a specific exam period this term. More information can be found here https://gulfnews.com/uae/education/revealed-how-uae-schools-will-hold-exams-online-1.71425670

UAE authorities are to give all residents free access to 4,000 online courses as part of a new education programme launched this week. Digital Learning for All aims to encourage innovation by turning the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic into opportunities. Under the scheme, Abu Dhabi School of Government will make courses from Yale University, Imperial College London and others available at no cost. More information can be found here: https://www.thenational.ae/uae/health/coronavirus-abu-dhabi-offers-free-online-courses-with-yale-and-ibm-1.1015313

Schools across the country will be inspected to determine how well they are delivering e-learning classes. Inspectors will attend virtual classes to observe teachers and pupils, while principals will be interviewed by officials. The Ministry of Education and Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah's education regulators will assess public and private schools this month. Each school will be subject to virtual inspections lasting about five hours. More information can be found here: https://www.thenational.ae/uae/education/coronavirus-uae-schools-to-be-inspected-over-e-learning-quality-1.1013830

Contact Information

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