Egypt is considering relocating certification exams for North Sinai students to a nearby governorate, Education Minister Tarek Shawki announced on Sunday, nearly a week after school sessions were suspended until further notice due to the launch of the army's sweeping anti-terrorism campaign, Operation Sinai 2018.

In statements ahead of the inauguration of a number of schools, including a complex of Japanese schools in Suez, Shawki said his ministry was currently devising a general plan for education in the governorate that aimed to "preserve the students' educational future."

The minister added that the resumption of classes in North Sinai depends on a decision by the armed forces.

On 9 February, hours after the launch of Operation Sinai 2018, Egyptian authorities decided to close all schools in North Sinai until further notice.

The Egyptian Armed Forces launched the operation “to implement the plan of comprehensive confrontation with terrorist and criminal elements and organizations in North and Central Sinai and other areas in the Nile Delta and the desert areas west of the Nile valley."

Tens of terrorists have been killed, with hundreds of criminal elements and suspects arrested since the beginning of the ongoing operation, the army had announced.