RIYADH: In a new measure by the Ministry of Education, students in government schools who fail crucial year-end exams, the passing of which would allow them to proceed to the next grade, have to resit them during the summer vacation.
The ministry has recently sent a circular to all schools saying that students from grade six upward who fail their exams will have to resit tests a fortnight after receiving their progress reports.
About 90 percent of students in government schools pass their final examinations. Hitherto, those who failed were required to sit another test at the beginning of the new academic year in order to progress to the next grade.
“The new scheme is of great benefit to students who fail the tests. They will have a greater chance to pass the second examination, as it will be held shortly after the initial exam and so they will be able to remember what they had initially revised,” Salam Al-Hejeilan, a schoolteacher in an intermediate school, told Arab News.
But Faisal Al-Helsan, another teacher, said that the new scheme is too strenuous for students considering the hot weather. “It’s not healthy to prolong their term of study at this time of the year when other children will be enjoying their annual holidays,” Saud Al-Muteiri said, adding that students and teachers are now being heavily taxed during the holidays.
Meanwhile, foreign schools have been urged to begin the new academic year on Oct. 11.
A senior official from the Ministry of Education, however, told Arab News that it is up to the school management to decide the academic calendar to suit the needs of their respective communities.
Most international schools have extended their school term to the end of July to allow the next academic year to begin after Ramadan. But some schools in the capital are planning to close early July and reopen in the first week of September.
