Egyptian universities first phase of admission for the academic year 2018/19 has started for thanaweya amma (high school) graduates. Egypt's Minister of Education Tarek Shawky certified the 2017/18 thanaweya amma exam results on Thursday, which show a 74.3 percent nationwide pass rate, up from 72.4 percent in 2016/17. In real terms some 314,079 students passed the exams. The first phase of admission will continue until next Friday, with a minimum score of 394 (96.10%) required for for 28,000 students of thanaweya amma to register for a science major, out of 126,000 students included in the first phase. Thanaweya amma grades determine what universities and faculties students may attend every year. Nearly 656,000 students across the state took thanaweya amma exams this year.