Jordanian students in Sudan continue protest

AMMAN — Jordanian students in Sudan continued their open-ended strike outside the Kingdom’s embassy in Khartoum on Wednesday, during which they met two lawmakers who flew to the African country to follow up on their issue.

The students have been demanding a review of a decision not to accredit secondary school certificates issued in Sudan.

More than 700 Jordanians have flown to Sudan to complete the General Secondary Education Certificate Examination (Tawjihi), believing that the exams are easier abroad.

Earlier this week, Sudanese authorities detained a number of Jordanian students over claims that the secondary school national exam test papers were leaked and obtained by some Jordanian students.

The incident prompted the Education Ministry to announce that secondary school certificates from Sudan will not be officially accredited in Jordan.

MPs Mustafa Rawashdeh and Nayef Leimoun headed to Sudan on Tuesday evening to “closely follow up on the issue”.

“The deputies came to talk us during the strike and we explained our point of view. They then met with the ambassador, after which they told us that there are 25 Jordanians arrested in connection with the leaked exam papers,” Abdullah Sarayreh, one of the protesters, told The Jordan Times.

The 20-year-old student is among those who decided to travel to Sudan to obtain their certificates there after failing to pass the Tawjihi back home.

According to Sarayreh, Rawashdeh said a meeting with Sudanese officials is scheduled to ensure the release of students before Saturday.

“He also promised to convey our demands to the education minister,” he added.

In previous remarks, Sarayreh noted that the “difficult” curricula in Sudan prompted the majority of Jordanians to switch to the Libyan system, which comes in a multiple-choice format.

“The paper leak incident involved one Jordanian student enrolled in the Sudanese system,” he said.

In a statement received by The Jordan Times, the Jordanian embassy in Khartoum called on the Education Ministry to revisit its decision not to accredit secondary school certificates issued in Sudan, citing a large Jordanian community in the North African country.

The statement noted that the exam leak took place at a Sudanese school and that the Libyan schools are yet to start their exams.