854,540 children begin new school academic year

As many as 1,303 schools with 66,379 teachers welcomed 854,540 students of various classes from 1 to 12 across the country on Sunday, according to the statistics revealed by the National Centre for Statistics and Information (NCSI).

The schools accommodate 430,461 boys and 424,079 girls and are further fragmented as schools offering classes from 1 to 4 (357 schools); from 5 to 10 (108 schools); from 9 to 12 (141 schools); from 11 to 12 (18 schools), and schools offering classes from 1 to 12 (679 schools).

The present teacher-student ratio stands at 1:13, while the male-female ratio of teachers is 45,593 (male) to 20,786 (female).

In terms of morning and evening schools, there are 364 morning schools for boys, 240 for girls and 564 mixed schools. There are 34 evening schools for boys, 27 schools for girls and 74 for mixed classes.

In terms of support staff in government schools, there are 11,183 administrative and technical staff members, comprising 6,763 females and 4,420 males in public schools.

Celebrations were held in various schools at the beginning of the academic year. Teachers welcomed children to their respective classes.

At the Imam Al Muhanna bin Sultan School in Bausher, Children were given introductory sessions on the importance of coexistence, mutual understanding and living in unity.