JEDDAH, 22 September 2007 — Some students find it difficult to study during Ramadan due to the long hours of fasting and other distractions such as visiting guests and late night feasts. Others, who have a peaceful and quieter Ramadan, think that they have plenty of time to study after iftar, especially since schools open later than usual.
This year’s Ramadan is special in some ways since it coincides with the first week of the academic year. “It is hard to concentrate at school while fasting. I stay in class counting the minutes until school is over and then I go back home to sleep,” said Ahmed Othman, a ninth grader.
“It’s difficult to wake up early in Ramadan as I stay up late due to family visits and invites for sahour feasts several times a week. When I wake up in the morning I feel I can barely move out of bed,” he said.
However, other students feel they have more time to study in Ramadan in comparison to other months. “I feel that I study better during Ramadan for some reason,” said Omar Muhammad, a third-year medical student.
“As I go back home, I read Qur’an and sleep until it is 15 minutes to iftar time. Just after iftar I go to my room and study until midnight. I take some short breaks in between to watch TV. But I generally don’t have a problem with studying in Ramadan,” he added.
Sufana Abu Roayan, a 13-year-old seventh grader, said some students and teachers are often absent during Ramadan. “I personally do not have a problem with studying during Ramadan. I can study after iftar and do my homework then. I had three exams last week and didn’t experience any difficulty,” she said.
Ahmed Salim, 21, is student at a private college in Jeddah. His afternoon lectures, which usually start at 4.30 p.m. outside Ramadan, start at 10 p.m. in Ramadan. “At first I was excited that I could have a lie-in in the morning and go to bed late at night. But as the class starts at 10 p.m., I end up losing concentration.”
Some teachers say there has been an advantage in Ramadan beginning in the first week of school. “Maybe it is a blessing this year that Ramadan coincided with the first week of the academic year. Students’ sleeping times are just continuing on from what they were before. They usually sleep late in summer as well as in Ramadan,” said Areej Bogari, a math teacher at a private school in Jeddah.
Bogari said she has not seen a difference in her students’ performance this year, as they are still at the beginning of the year. “The students only took one exam today and I will see the results. Usually girls’ results in Ramadan are poorer than the rest of the year. When I asked a student who usually gets high grades why she scored poorly, she answered that she was attending Taraweeh at night and did not have much time to study,” Bogari said.
She hopes that the holiday timings next year would be held in a way that suit students’ interests. She added that next year the academic year should start after the Eid Al-Fitr holidays, as Ramadan will fall during the summer vacation.
A students’ affairs official in one of the boys schools in Jeddah said that absentee rate is higher in Ramadan among students.
