Egypt’s Minister of Education Tarek Shawky announced Sunday that the new school year will start on 17 October.

According to a statement issued by the cabinet, Prime Minister Mostafa Mabdouli discussed with the ministers of education and higher education plans for the new academic year 2020-2021 amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Schools normally start in September in Egypt but the date for the beginning of the academic year has been pushed back due to the pandemic, the minister had said earlier

Egypt has 23 million school students classified into four stages: from kindergarten to secondary education, Education Minister Tarek Shawky said.

The minister says Egypt has a comprehensive electronic system for secondary education.

The full plan for the upcoming school year will be revealed in September, with the prime minister planned to review it on 20 August.

Schools and universities suspended in-person classes in March in the wake of the pandemic. Most students have remained at home since, with assignments given online, although pupils taking their final high school exams did so in person in June and July.