Egypt's 2026/2027 school year opens with staggered start across 12 governorates

The 2026/2027 school year begins Saturday in 12 governorates, with all remaining schools starting Sunday, as authorities raise readiness across transport and schools.

• Study starts Saturday, September 12, in schools operating Saturdays across 12 governorates, including Sohag, Qena, Luxor and Beni Suef; other schools open Sunday, September 13.
• Cairo's education directorate expects about 2.578 million students across 6,292 schools, with 20 new schools adding 656 classrooms this year.
• The Ministry of Education said textbook distribution will not be tied to payment of school fees.
• The Transport Ministry raised readiness on metro, LRT and monorail lines, announcing student subscription discounts of up to 92 percent.

Latest developments

• Sep 11 — Egyptian National Railways has announced 823 daily trains and 45 outlets at major stations to issue student subscription cards, with extra carriages in peak hours, following Transport Minister Kamel El-Wazir's directives.
• Sep 11 — Beheira Education Directorate announced over 4,200 schools ready to receive more than 1.7 million students as the school year begins Saturday.
• Sep 11 — Undersecretary Youssef al-Deeb confirmed new schools entered service to reduce classroom density and eliminate the two-shift system.
• Sep 11 — The directorate opened 35 'Ahla Madaris' exhibitions offering discounted school supplies.
• Sep 11 — Alexandria Governorate has opened a WhatsApp number (01281533385) for citizens to report taxi fare violations, including 'distance cutting', ahead of the school year.
• Sep 11 — Authorities said confirmed violations would face legal action.