CAIRO: The Ministry of Education has upped its communication with thanawiya amma (Egyptian high school certificate) students by adding email notification services for grades and schedules, in addition to planned Twitter and Facebook accounts. Thanawiya amma students will now receive an email on the website “Thanawiya Forum,” where their grades will be sent. Building on increasing internet penetration and social media, the education ministry has created an online forum where students, teachers and others can discuss issues related to the secondary school certificate. There will also be a group on Facebook and an account on Twitter. “Ongoing communication with the students and teachers is vital and an objective for the ministry. This dialogue affects the quality of education and the services the ministry seeks to offer the community,” said Ahmed Tobal, deputy minister of education for information and communication technology affairs. Through the email, the ministry can communicate directly with every student and teacher. Students from the first and second years have also received schedules for review sessions and guides offered, available on the forum's website. The dreaded thanawiya amma exam season began last Saturday with the usual concerns about the difficulty of the exams taking a backseat to security concerns given the current security vacuum. Minister of Education Ahmed Gamal Eldin Moussa previously told the media that measures have been taken to secure exams starting with the confidentiality of the printing process and throughout the transportation process, in which planes, cars and trains are used, all in coordination with the police and the armed forces.
