Bizzare Tawjihi cheating attempt brings to fore integrity concerns

AMMAN — A video went viral in Jordan on Tuesday featuring a man announcing the answers to the General Secondary Education Certificate Examination (Tawjihi) exam over the loudspeaker of a mosque in Balqa.

The Public Security Directorate (PSD) later issued a statement that the individual was immediately arrested and is currently under investigation.

The video led to many jokes circulating on social media, with many wondering how the man managed to access the exam’s questions before the incident. Others expressed their anger over the incident as an assault on the sanctity of the mosque. 

Students in Jordan sit for the Tawjihi exam after completing grade twelve, and their test scores determine their higher education prospects. 

The Jordan Times spoke with a number of Tawjihi teachers, who called on the Ministry of Education to conduct a “thorough” investigation into the incident. 

“Cheating kills any chance to equal opportunities; it’s an injustice to all students who studied and worked hard,” chemistry teacher Baha Abu Heid told The Jordan Times. 

Public university slots are highly competitive; a student’s Tawjihi score can “make or break” their chances in pursuing a higher education, Abu Heid added. 

Abu Heid also pointed out that when students hear of such incidents, it impacts their morale and undermines their trust in both the education system and the “integrity” of examination process. 

“I study all year, while others get the answers through loudspeakers without breaking a sweat … it’s very frustrating,” Maram, a Tawjihi student, told The Jordan Times. 

Abu Heid believes that in some parts of Jordan, cheating on Tawjihi exams is conducted in an “organised” manner based on nepotism. 

“The fact that someone has acquired a copy of the exam beforehand is in itself concerning,” he said. 

Such a “blatant” attempt at cheating requires tighter regulations in all examination halls across the Kingdom, such as using jamming devices or blocking mobile applications for the duration of the exam. Such tactics have been used in previous years, he added. 

English teacher Adel Al Najjar also believes that kinship and nepotism facilitate cheating in some areas with tight tribal connections. 

“Cheating hotspots should be determined and investigated. Exam proctors should also be chosen very carefully to ensure that they’re not placed in halls where they have student relatives,” he told The Jordan Times. 

According to Najjar, proctors are sometimes pressured or even threatened into overlooking cheating incidents. 

“I have been teaching Tawjihi students for 25 years, and I have heard about many cheating incidents at examination halls, but they’re usually much more discreet. No form of cheating is acceptable of course, but such a flagrant attempt is alarming,” he said. 

Najjar also pointed out that Tawjihi-related pressures and social stigmas around failure to be accepted at a university can lead students to cheat. 

Minister of Education and Minister of Scientific Research and Higher Education Azmi Mahafza said that the ministry recorded 120 violations of regulations during the first two days of Twajihi examinations.

The violations included attempts to use mobile phones and other devices inside the examination halls, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported earlier this month. 

Mahafza said that the ministry took all necessary measures against violators, as per the regulations governing the exam, which include being banned from sitting for the Tawjihi exam for two consecutive years.