School exams have been scheduled to start from Sunday, or even a week later.
However, most students and teachers have been left in the lurch, as no clear dates have been revealed so far.
King Abdulaziz and Effat universities also postponed exams, leaving most students frustrated and stressed. Their exam schedules are to be declared on Saturday, leaving students unsure about the timing of their exams.
“I don’t appreciate the fact we have to study all over again. It is so stressful going through the revision phase repeatedly. Studying for a major is not easy, I would rather just be done with it. My exams start from Feb. 14,” Kholud Mahdi, a King Abdulaziz University student, told Arab News.
Some students use this time constructively to their advantage. “We are using the extra time to revise and hopefully this will prove to be vital,” Lamis Mahdi, from Effat University, said.
Teachers also find themselves in a state of dilemma. “Some of us conducted exams before the floods hit, so now we have to pick up from there and continue the course of examinations. It is problematic in the sense it will interfere with the new syllabus,” a teacher at Manarat Schools in Jeddah said.
Teachers fear they may have to juggle classes and exams together. “The marking will also double,” she added.
The Ministry of Education ordered schools to remain closed till Feb. 12. “The mid-term exams started on Jan. 22 but were disrupted by the floods, so we will resume classes from Saturday and start our exams this week,” a spokesperson from Jeddah Knowledge International School told Arab News.
Students from private schools, including Tamer International and Pakistan International, said their exams have been canceled, and that the previous term’s grades and test marks would be used to assess their mid-term performance instead.
However, some teachers and students found this to be an odd decision. An Al-Waha School teacher said: “That option has not even crossed our minds. Exams will continue in the same fashion, as it is a very important step and we need to take it in the right direction. The results will only justify a student’s growth and evaluation.”
