The dreaded thanaweya amma school exam is being changed but whether the new system helps is debatable, reports Reem Leila Money wise or because of the emotional strain, the thanaweya amma or General Certificate for Secondary Education, is known for being a severe burden on families. Customary private tutoring swallows up family incomes while the acceptance in universities will depend on students' grades in this fateful last year of high school. Before the 25 January Revolution, the government vowed more than once to revamp the educational system especially the thanaweya amma, a nightmare for families with children in public schools. But the promises were void of any actual reformation, apparently made to gain popularity among the public or to perhaps distract them from other serious issues in the political arena. The scenario did not change much after the revolution. The current majority in parliament, the Islamists, presented a new draft changing the thanaweya amma. By so doing, the parliament's Islamists seem to want to regain public support after a shaky start in which on the surface at least very little has been done by MPs since the parliament's opening session on 23 January. In an attempt to alleviate the financial and emotional burden of parents and students, the parliament passed on 23 April a law changing the thanaweya amma system. According to Article 28 of the law the thanaweya amma is to be reduced from a two-year course to a one-year syllabus. The new law is to be enforced starting the academic year 2012/13 in first secondary, or 10th grade. Mohamed Nada, general manager at the Ministry of Education's General Administration of Examinations, stated, "there will be no difference in the current curriculum under the new system except in advanced scientific courses. The only aim is to reduce the burdens on families." According to Article 28, students who fail in one or two subjects will be allowed to be re-examined in them but will receive only 50 per cent of the grade, not the full mark. Nada pointed out, "if we gave the student his/her actual grade when repeating the exam, this will encourage students to fail a subject or two in order to improve their performance when sitting for the exam a second time. This is unfair." According to the article, those who will fail the exam once will be allowed to take it again without going to school in return for paying LE200 for each subject. Students will be allowed to re-sit the exam after failing the first for second time but no more. Article 29 of the law stipulated that the thanaweya amma certificate will allow its holder to join the job market. The new law will extend the validity of thanaweya amma certificate to five years in order to enable students to work before entering university. Acceptance in university will be based only on the grades of the final year of the secondary stage. Many say reducing the thanaweya amma nightmare from two years to one will create a mess regarding the curriculum. However, Reda Mosaad, deputy to the minister of education, denied the assertions. The old curriculum will remain the same. Instead of dividing them in two years, students will study them all in the same year, as was the case before. "Students have been doing this for years before the two-year course was applied. The ministry is spending LE115 million every year on books. We cannot afford printing different curriculums because we will then have two different systems of thanaweya amma in the coming years. Later on the ministry can consider this issue," Mosaad said. According to Nada, exams will be put in accordance with all related standards. A supreme supervising committee will be formed by the Education Ministry. It will prepare exams in which average students will be able to answer 75 per cent of the questions. Above average students could solve up to 90 per cent while only outstanding students will be able answer the questions all correctly. Teachers consider the private lessons of thanaweya amma one of the most rewarding businesses in the country, but parents say they are the most financially challenging. Private tutoring has become a prerequisite for passing the year. The impact of thanaweya amma exams falls directly on the entire household. For students and parents, a state of emergency is always announced at the homes of all thanaweya amma students, sometimes a year in advance. Months before the school year starts, private lesson reservations are made to guarantee that the student will find a place with the preferred private teacher. According to Mosaad, the ministry has highly qualified teachers. "The ministry is considering giving teachers a training course during summer on the new system but this is not confirmed. It depends on the country's circumstances at that time," he added. MP Mustafa Bakri believes that the new law will create a crisis. "The law will increase the problem of private lessons, thus putting more financial burdens on Egyptian families, not lessening them as most parliament members claim," said Bakri. Instead of a total reformation of the law, they amended just two of its articles, "which is ridiculous", added Bakri. Egypt's education system is in dire need of an overhaul, according to Bakri. He said instead of wasting LE3 billion on private lessons, less than half of this amount could be used in improving the education system, schools, curriculums and teachers.
