Egypt’s Minister of Education and Technical Education, Tarek Shawky, announced on Tuesday that the success rate for this year’s secondary school-leaving (Thanaweyya Amma) exams stands at 81.5%.
He added that 490,322 students successfully passed the exams, with girls performing slightly better than boys by a margin of 3%.
Shawky, who gave his approval to the results for the 2020 Thanaweyya Amma exams, said that about 18% of students who sat the exams gained an average score of over 95%.
The minister added that a further 18% gained an average score of between 90% and 95%.
Speaking at a press conference, Shawky added that the academic year, including the examinations system, was efficiently administered across the country, despite the unusual circumstances due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).
The Ministry of Education and Technical Education has received about 1,074 complaints during the Thanaweyya Amma exam period. Most of these were from Giza, Menoufia, and Cairo governorates.
Shawky confirmed that the complaints included 450 reports of attempted cheating using mobile phones, and 41 cases of photocopying exam papers which were published on social media. The minister asserted that the students involved in these cases were referred to prosecution and they have been barred from sitting the exams for two years.
He noted that this year’s Thanaweyya Amma exams will be the last exams to be held based on the traditional secondary school system. This system calculated total grades based on a scoring system, evaluating students’ answers solely based on final examinations.
From the upcoming 2020/2021 academic year, the ministry will be switching to a grade point average (GPA). This new system will evaluate students based on performance over coursework and electronically graded multiple-choice exams.
Shawky also asserted that his ministry will reveal the measures to be taken during the new 2020/2021 academic year in the first week of September.
