Egypt's Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Khaled Abdel Ghaffar said, on Saturday, that his ministry is determined to complete the 2020-2021 academic year, despite the challenges of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. During his inspection tour of Ain Shams University and Cairo University in the Egyptian capital, Abdel Ghaffar reviewed all the precautionary measures against COVID-19 taken by different facilities during the mid-term exams. Abdel Ghaffar's tour undertook an inspection of different public facilities coinciding with the start of the mid-year exams. He asserted that Egypt had proven that it can overcome any challenges, and explained that his ministry has not received any complaints from the students who attended Saturday's exams. Last week, the Supreme Council of Universities, which is headed by Abdel Ghaffar, announced that study at Egypt's universities would resume in the second semester, with first semester exams to be held from 27 February. The mid-year holiday was initially set for 16 January-20 February, but was extended for one more week to 27 February. Abdel Ghaffar added that the examination procedures are carried out in a similar manner to previous years, and that universities have taken all precautionary measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus. During his visit, the minister inspected the procedures taken by university campus', including measuring temperatures of all students before entering and ensuring that they are wearing face masks.
