Ministry announces ‘reasonable’ results of Tawjihi winter session

AMMAN – The results of the Tawjihi (General Secondary Certificate Examination) winter session were out on Wednesday, with the Education Ministry describing them as "coherent" and "reasonable".

Of the total 161,308 who registered for the session, 139,333 sat for the tests, including 100,137 regular students and 49,275 private-study applicants — those who retook the exam after failing in previous years and are eligible to apply to universities if they passed, according to Education Minister Mohammad Thneibat.

"A total of 19,790 irregular students have passed the exam, with a pass rate of 40.2 per cent," he announced at a press conference, noting that as the case was in previous years, girls dominated the lists of top achievers in all streams.

The grades of some 19,061 students enable them to apply to higher education institutions.

A total of 97,060 regular students sat for the vocational and academic streams: literary, scientific, Sharia, IT and health education, according to the minister.

Highlighting the major changes the ministry has made to the exam, Thneibat noted that the "logical" results of the session, especially for private-study students, are "proof that the restructuring plans have bode well".

"For example, the grades of only 132 students of those who sat for the exam ranged between 95 to 99.9 per cent, whereas the number of very highly achieving students in previous years did not make sense and did not reflect the actual capabilities of students," he said.

Thneibat explained that a “better competency-measuring exam along with stricter monitoring process” have contributed to “returning the prestige of Tawjihi as a national exam”.

He unveiled plans to cancel the IT, Sharia and health education streams of the Tawjihi as part of a comprehensive strategy to address shortcomings in the existing version of the test.

“We are also studying the possibility of conducting one Tawjihi session instead of two soon as a way to alleviate the burden currently shouldered by the ministry, teachers, students and parents,” the minister said.

Following the announcement of the Tawjihi results, the Public Security Department reported 300 cases of reckless driving when students and their friends and family members celebrated “success” through car processions across Jordan.

Meanwhile, a female student was admitted to Yarmouk Public Hospital following the announcement of the results after she tried to take her own life through taking a “huge” amount of pills, police reported.

According to a statement e-mailed to The Jordan Times, six female Tawjihi students were taken to hospital suffering nervous breakdowns.

They were all discharged after receiving the necessary treatment.