Minister of State for Municipal Affairs and Minister of State for Housing Affairs Engineer Abdul Latif Al-Mashari has ratified the Municipal Council’s decision of 8 December 2025, which set the 2027–2028 academic year as the final deadline for cancelling approvals and licenses issued to private schools operating in private residential areas, paving the way for their closure by the Ministry of Education.

In his ratification, Al-Mashari added a paragraph stipulating that sites allocated to private schools may not be handed over unless approval is obtained from the Directorate-General of Traffic and a traffic study approved by the competent authorities is submitted.

The Municipal Council had previously approved amendments to three clauses related to the relocation of private schools from private residential areas, setting the evacuation deadline at the end of the 2027–2028 academic year, after the Ministry of Education completes the identification of alternative locations for the schools.

The original decision, issued on 13 November 2023, stipulated the evacuation and closure of all private schools located in private residential areas within three calendar years, after the completion of new land allocation procedures and the issuance of building permits, provided that construction begins within one year of site allocation and receipt.