Alexandria Governor Mohamed El-Sherif has said the decision was taken to preserve the safety of students and to better allow municipal authorities to deal with the fallout from the expected inclement weather.

However, the decision does not apply to education staff in the governorate, who may have to attend if needed, the statement said.

Egypt is expected to witness a wave of unstable weather conditions till Saturday, with rain expected in some areas in the country, Egypt’s Meteorological Authority said on Sunday.

On Sunday, Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly urged all governorates nationwide to maintain a state of maximum preparedness in anticipation of unstable weather and rainy season.

Torrential rains turned deadly in Egypt several times over recent years during the rainy season in winter, causing buildings and facilities to collapse and citizens to be electrocuted while walking through flooded streets.

Last year, Egyptian cabinet has delegated to the country's 27 governors the authority to suspend educational activities at schools in their governorates in anticipation of disruptive weather forecast by meteorologists.

As Egypt mainly relies on the sewage network to drain rainwater rather than a separate rainwater drainage network, the government has, in recent years, begun the implementation of several national projects to modernise roads and the sewage system.

Last year, the parliament’s Housing Committee approved EGP 33 billion within the general budget for FY2020/21 for water and sanitation projects. This was deemed the largest budget to be allocated for the sector in the history of the country.