More than six million male and female students from all phases of public education returned back to their schools on the first day of the new academic year on Sunday. They were joined by about 1,360,000 students from universities and technical and vocational training institutions as well as from special education and continuous education institutes in all regions and governorates across Saudi Arabia. Last Sunday, more than half a million male and female teachers as well as admin istrative staff and supervisors resumed their duty as more than 28,000 schools and higher educational institutions across the Kingdom opened their doors at the end of 51-day long summer vacation. The Ministry of Education and the Technical and Vocational Training Corporation (TVTC) had completed all their preparations in public, private and foreign education schools and other educatioinal institutions for the academic year since an early stage, the Saudi Press Agency reported. This is through integrating with education departments all over the Kingdom in accordance with a strategic plan to get schools ready prior to the return of students. As part of this, the ministerial field teams worked, with the support of school readiness committees in education departments, to provide the necessary requirements of schools, and thus enhancing the level of readiness of schools to receive students. The ministry stressed the role of parents and families in motivating their children and ensuring their punctuality and attendance, in order to achieve the prescribed goals during the educational journey of their wards. The current academic year covers three semesters that include a number of vacations. According to the new academic calendar, the academic semester would begin on Sunday Aug. 20, and will continue until Jumada Al-Awwal 2, corresponding to Nov. 16, while the second semester will start on Sunday, 12 Jumada al-Awwal corresponding to Nov. 26, and will end on Thursday 12 Shaaban, corresponding to Feb. 22, 2024. The third semester will start on Sunday, Shaban 22, corresponding to March 3 2024, and will end on Monday Dhul Hijjah 4, corresponding to June 10, 2024, according to the calendar. Meanwhile, 20 leading universities in the Kingdom switched over to two semester-system during the new academic year.