Four million boys and girls are expected to turn up to write their first semester examinations on Saturday, education authorities have confirmed. In Taif, Muhammad Bin Sa'eed Abu Ras, the Director General of Boys' Education, said that 400 education supervisors will act as invigilators during the examinations. He said all the secondary schools have entered their data into a central system. This system will be used to store all secondary school marks, in all specializations. Salim Bin Hilal Al-Zahrani, Director General of the General Administration for Girls' Education in Taif, said that his department has completed all its preparations. A total of 350 female supervisors will oversee the intermediate and secondary schools. In Tabuk, Dr. Muhammad Bin Abdullah Al-Lehaidan, Director General of Boys' and Girls' Education, urged all school headmasters and headmistresses to study the latest examination regulations and to ensure that everything runs according to plan. Al-Lehaidan said the basic goal of these examinations was to ensure that students gain knowledge. The aim was not to just pass the examinations, he said. In Asir, Dr. Abdul Rahman Bin Muhammad Fussail, Director General of Education, said the schools in the Asir Education Region will see 44,000 male and female students sit for the examinations. The administration has prepared for the exams by holding workshops and preparing a suitable learning environment for students. Fussail said they will have 200 invigilators to monitor the examinations daily. Also, a working team from the school's health unit has been assigned to monitor all schools, in case of a health emergency during the examinations. Hasan Aal Mishary, Director of the Examinations Department at the Asir Education Administration, said there were 259 schools in the region, including government, private, Qur'an memorization, military schools, institutes and special education institutions. The administration has also catered for children of soldiers who are currently on duty. Officials have ensured these students have help to overcome any difficulties. They have been treated as part-time students, in terms of the marks for short examinations and for class attendance.
