The Saudi Education and Training Evaluation Commission responsible for accrediting educational and training systems, along with the Ministry of Education announced that female students will not be allowed to wear the abaya during exams.
The ETEC emphasized that female students must wear school uniforms when inside examination halls, and that the uniform should conform to strict regulations as well as standards of public decency.
ETEC, originally called the Education Evaluation Authority, is a governmental body in Saudi Arabia that is in charge of designing, evaluating, assessing, and accrediting training and education systems in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.
ETEC was founded as a governmental organization in 2017 after the council of ministers’ order No. 120, and it is legally and financially autonomous, directly reporting to the prime minister.
In 2018, it was announced that the abaya would no longer be legally enforced, although a number of women in the kingdom continue to wear them.
Traditionally black, more colorful abayas, in light blues and pinks, are also worn by women across the Gulf.
