Public schools, females make strong showing in Tawjihi

AMMAN — Public schools made a strong showing in the General Secondary Education Certificate Examination’s (Tawjihi) summer session, with seven students from government-run schools ranking among the top 10 in the scientific and literary streams, according to the Education Ministry. 

"This is a remarkable progress realised gradually in the education system. The number of top Tawjihi students graduating from public schools have been on the rise for the past three years," said Education Minister Mohammad Thneibat during a press conference to announce the results on Sunday.

Of the total 127,872 students who had registered for the session, 80,747 sat for the tests, he noted, adding that the overall pass ratio stood at 40.1 per cent.

Pass rates in the scientific stream stood at 63.1, 18.2 per cent in the literary stream, 18.9 per cent in Sharia, 26.5 per cent in IT and 20.4 per cent in health education.

As for the vocational stream, Thneibat said that a total of 7,921 students sat for the exam, 4,343 of whom passed it with a pass rate of 54.8 per cent, while the pass rate among those who sat for the "old" industrial branch reached 66.9 per cent. 

Among the 3,368 students enrolled in the “new” industrial stream, 70 per cent passed, said the minister. 
He added that of the 38,662 private-study applicants that registered for the exam, 31,101 of whom sat for it, the pass ratio was 39.5 per cent.

The top achiever in the scientific branch was Yousef Kamal Souri with a rate of 98.4 per cent, while Reem Suleiman Saeed topped the literary branch with 99 per cent and Leen Rawhi Hassan ranked first in the IT branch with a score of 97.9 per cent, the minister announced.

Tawjihi results determine which university a student can attend as well as what major the student can study.

On the other hand, Thneibat highlighted that the next year will witness the opening of the applied secondary stream, which is expected to attract around 14,000 students. 

“The ministry has cooperated with the Vocational Training Corporation to prepare its institutions across Jordan to receive students. The ministry will provide financial support to every student enrolled in the programme,” he noted. 

Thneibat also stated that the ministry will conduct the proficiency exam for those who sat for non-Jordanian secondary school systems within the coming few weeks. 

The test will not be conducted for those who were enrolled in international exam systems like the IGCSE or IB or those who earned their secondary school degree from countries that conduct a unified national exam for graduates after finishing school. 

In a statement received by The Jordan Times, the Sisterhood is Global Institute  noted that the Tawjihi results prove that Jordanian women are capable of efficiently contributing to the development process. 

Girls have claimed the top seven scores in the literacy, IT, health, Sharia, agricultural, industrial and domestic economy streams, while two boys ranked top in the scientific and hospitality streams.