AMMAN — Experts called for amending the
Tawjihi (general secondary education
certificate examination), and finding a more effective method of education,
saying the annual exam causes manifestations of anxiety nationwide.
اضافة اعلان
The calls came with the backdrop of an opinion poll
published by the
Center for Strategic Studies, which showed that 50 percent of
the Jordanians do not believe that the exam constitutes a fair educational and
academic evaluation for students.
However, only 38 percent of Tawjihi students believe
that the system, which is currently in force, is an accurate reflection of
their level.
The survey also showed that 46 percent of Jordanians
whose choldren underwent the exam described the experience as “stressful”,
while 14 percent said that it introduces a state of emergency at home, and
another 3 percent said they find the experience exhausting.
The survey said that 31 percent of Jordanians, and
41 percent of the students demanded the cancellation of the Tawjihi exam, and
to find an appropriate alternative.
Former minister of higher education and scientific
research Azmi Mahafza told
Jordan News that “the Tawjihi exam is
unsuitable for measuring the student’s capabilities in critical, creative
thinking, and problem solving.”
“Therefore, I repeatedly demanded that it be
reconsidered,” he noted.
He called for introducing a university admission
exam to determine the appropriate specialization for each student. “This was a
proposal I submitted to the Development Committee for the General Secondary
Exam on december 6, 2021,” he said.
Mahafza pointed out that that the Tawjihi exam,
which grants opportunities based on the grade point average, is forcing
students into specializations that do not match their abilities, or fulfills
their hope for a future profession.
Ayesh Al-Hroob, dean of Scientific Research at
Isra University, told
Jordan News that 50 percent of Jordanians do not
believe that the high school exam constitutes a fair assessment of students.
“This is the reality on the ground, the grade
students get at the end does not reflect the outcome of 12 years of learning,”
he said. By the same token, he added,
the exam is “just a psychological and societal pressure on the student, and
their parents alike”.
Hroob said this made Jordanian society see the
Tawjihi exam as a “fateful” test that would determine the future of a student.
He called for the assessment to be cumulative, starting from the 10th grade
until Tawjihi.
He proposed that the ministerial exams for the 10th
grade should be only two papers, one comprising scientific subjects, and the
other humanitarian”. He suggested that that the same program applies to exams
in the 11th grade.
“In the third year, or the 12th grade, the
ministerial exams must be mixed between essay and multiple choice”, he noted.
“This way, the student, the family, and the community get a respite from the
pressures of the exam,” he said.
Sociologist
Hussein Al-Khuzaie told
Jordan News that the poll is reflective of the general perspective in the society. He
described the exam as “tiring and psychologically exhausting”, given that the
test is the only criterion that lead to college acceptance.
He stressed the need to reconsider the method of
acceptance “given that it is a starting point for the future”.
Former minister of education Tayseer Al-Nuaimi, told
Jordan News that the result of the survey is “not surprising”. “But we
have to study the results, and provide alternative solutions to develop the
Tawjihi Exam to be more representative and a fair assessment of the skills of
students,” he added.
The exam should not be limited to a specific form of
evaluation, such as a set of questions, Nuaimi said. “It shouldn’t be gradually
liberated from relying solely on the textbook, but on core learning standards
and competencies focusing on applications of knowledge and skills,” he said.
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