The Ministry of Education and Higher Education has completed preparations for final examinations of senior secondary schools in which around 11,500 students will appear for exams in 149 centres across the country.

The Ministry has taken all precautionary measures to start the examinations of the end of the second semester of the general and specialised Secondary School Certificate for the academic year 2019/2020 on June 1. 

Examinations will continue for two weeks and end on June 13. The Ministry of Education and Higher Education plans to allocate about 6,100 employees to work as observers and in committees.

The test papers will be marked according to the announced schedule, and the results will be announced through the Ministry’s website after their approval by H E the Minister of Education and Higher Education. The certificates will be received in schools and students will be notified of the date with a text message. 

H E Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education Dr. Ibrahim bin Saleh Al Nuaimi had recently confirmed, in statements to QNA, that the Ministry attached great importance to high school students, adding that comprehensive lessons were provided for all subjects to ensure that the learning objectives were adequately covered by multiple platforms for learning, in addition to the continuous communication between teachers and students.

His Excellency said that the preparations by the Ministry of Education and Higher Education for the tests for school students (day and adult education categories) for the academic year 2019-2020 are proceeding well.

In light of the global spread of coronavirus (COVID-19), the Ministry of Education and Higher Education worked in coordination with the Ministry of Public Health and other institutions in the country to ensure that these tests are carried out in safe conditions. The Ministry also took into accounts that the test are appropriate in terms of content. The Student Assessment Office has carried out a number of procedures to implement the tests under these circumstances, including distributing the students with a maximum of 8 students in a classroom and 40 in a large gym with a distance of up to 4 meters in order to ensure that there is no crowding in the examination rooms. 

Furthermore, masks, gloves and sterilizers will be provided at all test sites, grading and control centers, along with thermometers. 

In this context, a health and safety manual has also been prepared to do the exam of the second semester. Additionally, an awareness plan was also prepared for all groups participating in the test. The exam time was changed to start at 9am so that all required precautions are implemented. 

Dr. Al Nuaimi revealed in his statements to QNA that two buildings for grade assessment and Secondary Certificate control were shifted to two larger buildings to ensure that no congestion occurred during the grading process.

The distribution of the members of the grading and control committees was done according to all required safety procedures. 

In this context, the Ministry ensured that the transportation to school is safe, as most students will go to the exam sites in their own cars while the rest will be transported through school buses, which will be only carrying eight students, and the drivers will be isolated for 14 days before the start and until the end of the tests. The bus observer will also measure the temperature of the students before they enter the bus and the school to ensure that they are not infected with the virus. 

The Ministry said that the 48 students were distributed to 6 committees with 8 students in each committee, in addition to allocating places to wait for students before exam starts according to t2he same mechanism followed in committees, adding that this is in implementation of the procedures for social distancing among students.

The exams, which were suspended on May 14 according to schedule, will be resumed on June 1 and will continue until 13 of the same month.

The Ministry indicated that the exams are carried out easily according to the plan laid down in the testing committees. In implementation of its instructions in this regard, the religious institute administration has taken all precautionary measures and procedures to ensure that the process of the end of the second semester of the institute’s secondary certificate is carried out in safety and smoothness, the Ministry said, adding that measures include sterilisation of the headquarters of the test committees, in order to preserve the health and safety of students and observers.

SOURCE: THEPENINSULAQATAR