Nearly five million students go back to school Saturday after enjoying their one-week mid-term break. Over 32,000 schools are ready to receive students with new textbooks and class schedules. “Everything is ready to start the second semester right off the bat as planned by the Ministry of Education,” said Abdullah Al-Shihri, director of the Education Office in Tanoumah, northwest of Abha. The first period will be as serious as in any regular school day, he said. Al-Ameen (or trustworthy) school transportation projects called on students who use this service in selected areas across the Kingdom to use their boarding passes and comply with the safety regulations. Over 545,000 female students have benefited from the new school bus project this year. With the back-to-school season has come the annual ritual of shopping for hot goodies for students of all ages, from pre-school to university. With the sales of school supplies expected to rise to SR3 billion by the end of this academic year, there has already been an increase of at least 20 percent in sales, said an owner of a bookstore.Students are now more supplies with bookstores having to compete in order to sell basic school supplies so that “now the book cover has to match the notebook and the pencil case,” he said. Hot new must-haves for back to school include bright, happy colors in everything from pencils to calculators to electronics accessories.
