Academic year to be concluded early July due to COVID-19

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The Supreme Council of Universities in Egypt announced the start of the end-of-year exams for universities during June, provided that they end at the beginning of July in all universities.

The council asked universities to prepare schedules and announce them to students in sufficient time before starting the exams and preparing for the end-of-year examinations. It called for preparing all necessary precautionary measures to ensure the smooth conduct of examinations and the safety of students, faculty, and staff. This is by preventing the overcrowding of students in the examination halls, taking into account social distancing among students, and taking advantage of all the universities’ capabilities in conducting exams with full discipline, according to a statement by the ministry.

The Supreme Council of Universities, headed by Minister of Higher Education Khaled Abdel Ghaffar, met via video technology, to follow up on the progress of studies in universities and start preparing for the end-of-school exams for the 2020/2021 academic year.

The council emphasised the intensification of relying on e-learning to provide theoretical lectures to students to reduce student congestion in the halls and classrooms and reduce students’ attendance rates on campus. He emphasised the restructuring of the study schedules for the attendance of students of practical colleges to reduce the number of times they attend to a minimum that allows mastering the practical skills necessary for students of the transfer and graduation years.

The Egyptian Ministry of Education announced the end of the current school year, at the end of April, for school students of all school levels. The decision took effect from kindergarten to the second grade of secondary school, except for middle and high school diploma students. The expected decision came in anticipation of the country entering the height of the third wave of the outbreak of the coronavirus.