JEDDAH — Nearly two million students from the educational departments of Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah and Taif will return to schools on Sunday. The general directorates of education in these four regions have completed their preparations to welcome the students. Classes for public schools in all other regions of Saudi Arabia commenced last Sunday, Aug. 23, on the first day of the new academic year. Approximately 464,000 students in Makkah and 270,000 students in Taif will return to their classrooms on Sunday. Meanwhile, Jeddah will welcome approximately 700,000 students across 2,862 public, private, international, and foreign schools. Jeddah has witnessed the strengthening of its educational infrastructure with the addition of 27 modern schools built in partnership with the private sector. This is in addition to five early childhood projects, eight schools under the "Aseel" model, and 30 schools currently under construction within housing projects, keeping pace with urban expansion and population growth in the city. In Madinah, the General Directorate of Education has completed its preparations to welcome approximately half a million students in 2,631 schools, with the participation of more than 38,000 teachers, ensuring a smooth start to the academic year from day one. The number of students registered in the first grade of primary school reached 24,600, while 19,700 children enrolled in kindergarten level. Schools are fully prepared to receive new students and get them ready for the beginning of their educational journey. Meanwhile, education departments in various regions and governorates of Saudi Arabia have announced additional school holidays that are not included in the academic calendar issued earlier by the Ministry of Education. The departments have specified Sunday, October 25; Sunday, November 29, 2026; Thursday, January 7 and Sunday, April 2027 as additional holidays within the academic calendar. However, three of these holidays are not applicable to schools in the education departments of Makkah, Madinah, Jeddah, and Taif. These schools have only one additional holiday on October 25, 2026. It is worthy to note that the academic calendar issued by the ministry includes six school holidays: National Day (two days); autumn break (nine days); mid-year break (nine days); Founding Day (two days), Eid Al-Fitr (16 days), and Eid Al-Adha (16 days).