High school students in their final year of the Thanaweya Amma exams will be granted grace marks due to the coronavirus outbreak, the head of the high school exams department and deputy Education Minister Reda Hegazy announced Tuesday.
Grace marks this year will be up to 10 percent of the total grade, Hegazy said, benefiting students that had been falling short of the passing grade.
The deputy minister explained that these marks will be granted according to the grades of each subject – with eight marks for a subject with a full mark of 60, six marks for a subject with a total grade of 60, five marks for a subject with a full grade of 50, and so on.
Last month an Egyptian parliament member had submitted a suggestion to the government to grant final year high school students five percent of the total grade for their Thanaweya Amma exams, as compensation for damages to their study brought on by the coronavirus.
Parliament Member Eman Khedr said that high school students have been facing extremely difficult circumstances due to the pandemic, which has overshadowed their educational pursuits.
Egypt shut down schools in March as part of precautionary measures to curb the coronavirus outbreak. Private educational centers were also suspended, and students studied at home in preparation for their final exams.
Around 653,389 students started the high school final exams on June 21 across Egypt. The exams will continue until July 21.
Thanaweya Amma refers to tests in the final years of high school, which students attend between the ages of 17 and 18, a crucial educational stage in Egypt. A student’s score in the examinations can determine whether they are admitted to a free public university and what course they are able to study.
