Thaqafi, Director of Education Administration in Jeddah, has emphasized readiness of schools to receive students to their mid-term examinations all over Jeddah governorate starting Saturday. He said 90 percent of the maintenance operations in schools affected by the devastating floods which hit Jeddah three weeks ago have finished so schools will be reopened Saturday. The Educational Committee, a subcommittee of the Unified Emergency Committee formed by Prince Khaled Al-Faisal, Emir of Makkah, indicated that the half-term examinations for secondary schools applying the “Curricula System” start from Saturday to next Wednesday. It said the examinations for evening classes start Saturday at 1 P.M. while the night schools begin at 6.30 P.M. It has called on students' parents who have not returned yet to their houses, which have been damaged by the devastating floods to approach the nearest schools in the vicinity of their shelters. The principals of these schools have been instructed to allow the female and male students write their examinations in these schools after they produce their IDs to the authorities concerned. Also, it also gave students who can't appear Saturday in the examinations halls an extra one week to be added to the last day set for the examinations to enable them to sit for alternative examinations. The committee has allocated a direct telephone landline 026820804 and Fax 026440068 for the parents and guardians for any further information. Meanwhile, at the weekend all the stationery and departmental stores were buzzing with activity as school-going children thronged them along with their parents to buy new school accessories. The reopening of schools will add tremendous pressure on the already congested roads of the Kingdom. The traffic department is continuously monitoring the situation to address the anticipated increase in traffic, especially during peak hours. Okaz/Saudi Gazette __
