It’s not just the pressure of pass or fail, but also the stress that is brought home, according to Mukhtar Muhammad Maulud, the head of the Reconciliation Department in the Makkah General Court, which is responsible for mediating family disputes. 

End-of-semester exams and Ramadan are the most testing times for family relations, he said; the former due to the pressure on students and their families to ensure good grades, and the latter he attributed to the economic stress of the fasting month on Saudi families who tend to host iftar dinners and end the month by buying gifts for the children, new household items and clothes.