JEDDAH: Schools across Riyadh and Diriyah governorate will continue remote learning until Thursday, Oct. 22, the capital’s education authority said on Saturday, extending measures introduced earlier this month as attacks on the capital continued.
The Riyadh Education General Administration said the decision covers all students, teachers and administrative staff, with lessons delivered through the Madrasati platform and other approved educational platforms.
“As part of the continued implementation of precautionary measures, it has been decided to extend the conversion of in-person study to remote study,” the administration said in a statement on its official X account.
Alfaisal University and Prince Sultan University also informed students by email on Saturday night that classes would be held remotely this week.
The extension means school pupils will study from home for a second consecutive week. It is the second period of remote learning in Riyadh this autumn.
Schools in the capital switched to online lessons on Oct. 11, a day after a missile strike on King Khalid International Airport killed 12 people and injured 309, according to the General Authority of Civil Aviation.
Those killed included four Saudis and eight people of other nationalities. Umrah pilgrims were among the casualties. A further strike on Terminal 4 the following day killed a Pakistani national and injured 11 others. The airport suspended operations for several days.
An earlier suspension of in-person classes in Riyadh ran from Sept. 27 to Oct. 1, following interceptions of Houthi drones and ballistic missiles near the capital.
The latest extension follows a week of air defence activity over several parts of the Kingdom.
On Friday, the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed three drones over the southern region and Riyadh, two cruise missiles over the Red Sea, and a ballistic missile over Yanbu.
Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Maliki announced the interceptions on X, saying they occurred in the preceding hours.
The coalition said King Khalid International Airport alone had been targeted at least 20 times this month.
The Ministry of Education expanded the Madrasati platform during the COVID-19 pandemic, enabling millions of Saudi students to study remotely in 2020 and 2021. It has since been used during disruptions, including weather-related suspensions of in-person classes.
The administration did not specify the conditions required for a return to classrooms or announce arrangements beyond Thursday.