Egypt’s 2019-2020 school year for students of the old educational system in grades from third primary to third secondary in 12 governorates began on Saturday.
These governorates are Fayoum, Beni Suef, Minya, Assiut, Sohag, Qena, Luxor, Aswan, North Sinai, Kafr al-Sheikh, Beheira and Ismailia.
Studies also began on Saturday in schools affiliated to the Egyptian Church in all governorates, which take Sunday off.
The new school year will then start on Sunday for 23 million students and three million workers in nearly 60,000 schools at Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, Qalyubiya, Sharqiya, Gharbiya, Monufiya, Damietta, Port Said, Suez, the Red Sea, New Valley, South Sinai, and Matrouh.
Education Minister Tarek Shawki urged educational institutions to encourage creativity, teamwork and innovation skills among teachers and students.
He also called for the even distribution of all teachers in schools to avoid shortages, and prohibited physical and psychological punishment for students, encouraging school psychologists and social workers and forbidding the collection of money under the name of students or their parents.
The minister stressed the avoidance of any controversial issues of a political nature at schools.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
