CAIRO: It is a familiar scene outside public schools during the month of June: mothers, fathers and siblings anxiously standing in silence, everyone waiting for the thanawiya amma (Egyptian high school certificate) students to finish their exam. The first student that walked out of the maths exam Tuesday burst into tears and ran into her mother's arms. "It was very difficult; no one could answer anything! she said between sobs. The same scene was repeated as other students left the examination hall. Soon everyone at the school gate was in tears. "Our whole life is put on hold all year round, and in the end you find your child coming out looking like this, said one mother who chose to remain anonymous. "What do I say to this? Al-hamdulillah [Thank God], she added. Thanawiya amma, the national secondary school certificate, is nothing short of a nightmare for high school students and their families. A quasi state of emergency is declared in homes with high school students during final exam time. "Life literally stops at home; no television, no birthday parties and no one can come over for a visit. You organize your life according to your son or daughters exam schedule, said one parent. "No one comes to our home, except the private tutors, of course, who turn it into a center for private lessons by bringing along around 18 students whom you are forced to welcome, she added. Children are instilled with a fear of thanawiya amma as they grow up, compounded by the tremendous social pressure, with the importance of the two-year program being drummed into them from kindergarten. Phrases like: "Study so you can join a decent college, and, "These two years will determine your whole life, are repeated to students ad nauseam. End result? Tense and anxious students who are scared to death of exams. "You can't imagine the anxiety go through during these two years, said a freshmen at university who was waiting for her sister to finish. "I try to calm her down all the time and tell her that she has to think clearly as she answers the exam, and remember that she doesn't have to get the full mark. She only has to pass to get to university, she added. Private tutoring has become a requirement for making it through thanawiya amma. With teachers giving private lessons in order to boost their meager salaries, students often consider attendance at public schools as little more than a formality. "School is no more than a medium through which you register for the exams, said one parent. "But sometimes they call the students and tell them to come and fill the classrooms when there is an inspection by the Ministry of Education, she added. "Whenever I went to school the teachers would just tell me there was nothing to do, so I might as well just go home, explained the freshmen. "This forced me to turn to private tutoring, although I never took any private lessons until thanawiya amma, and I used to get high grades, she added. Parents described private tutoring as "a vicious cycle you can never escape. Some students engage up to five tutors during the academic year. "Sometimes you start out with one tutor. If you don t like his method, or if you hear from your friends that there is someone else who is better, you switch from one to the other. Things like that happen, said one student. Furthermore, parents blame the thanawiya amma system, which makes students dependent on private tutoring, for "paralyzing the students' brain and intellectual skills. "Who said that there is analytical or critical thinking or creativity in thanawiya amma? It's nothing but memorization, and not just any memorization; students are forced to memorize their tutor's study notes and nothing else, said the mother. In addition, students are forced to drop everything in their life for two years and do nothing except study and attend private lessons. "They are the worst two years in a person's life. Everything is forced upon you, and even if you have a hobby you are forced to give it up so it won't distract you, she added. The studying and private lessons usually begin during the summer vacation. Theoretically, they have to complete the syllabus by March to spend the remaining three months, until June, reviewing before the final exams. This year, the Ministry of Education introduced a hotline that students can call to submit any complaints regarding their exams (landline: (02) 2794 6509, mobile: 19126). Daily News Egypt tried to call these numbers for three hours after the maths exam only to get a busy signal each time. "It's a hotline, so it's commercial. They must have made a deal with one of the telecommunications companies and will split the profits, claimed one parent. It was reported that the thanawiya amma certificate is expected to be revised as part of the education reform program announced in May this year at the National Conference for Developing Secondary Education.
