RIYADH — More than six million students started on Sunday sitting for examinations for the first semester of the academic year 1442. For the first time students are appearing for the exams remotely, following the decision of the Ministry of Education to conduct them through the Madrasati platform for public and private schools that benefit from the platform, or other educational platforms used by private and international schools. The ministry stressed that the educational process would continue during the examination period to provide educational enrichment to students as well as to cover academic losses. The exams are being held in accordance with the mechanism, approved by the ministry, and the arrangements made accordingly. As per the mechanism, marks will be redistributed for the annual activities and the final exams for each academic subject except for the first semester. There will be 40 marks for the elementary and intermediate levels for the annual activities that include short exams, performance assignments, class attendance, and homework, and 10 marks for the final exam. The exams for the secondary schools will be in accordance with the schedule, the ministry said. The ministry decided to conduct the first semester exams remotely through the Madrasati platform and other platforms in line with the nature of the subject, the phase and the class according to the options of short written exams, oral exams, and home exams. The ministry had stated earlier that it was exploring the possibility of conducting the first semester exams physically, after obtaining the approval of the director of education and the student’s guardian, as well as to ensure the school’s readiness to achieve the required physical distance and to comply with all the precautionary measures and preventive protocols to stem the spread of coronavirus. The duration of school timing during these days will be three hours. This is mainly for conducting exams, in addition to providing educational enrichment, reviewing courses and paying educational losses if any. The ministry also stressed that the exam schedule should not contain more than two subjects per day with the allocation of five minutes to prepare students before the exam. The period of examination of the written materials of elementary school students is five days, while this period in the intermediate phase is according to the number of subjects, provided that it is not less than six days. The period in the secondary phase is in accordance with the number of subjects, provided that it is not less than seven days. The school officials have the authority to carry out alternative tests for students who were absent for exams with acceptable excuses, and for this, there is no need to obtain approval from the Department of Examinations and Admissions.