Two high school students make preparations for their final examinations in Madinah Thursday night. Annual school tests start all over the Kingdom on Saturday. — SPA Saudi Gazette report RIYADH — More than 3 million intermediate and high school students will start their end-of-the-year examinations all over the Kingdom Saturday. The Ministry of Education has mobilized all its resources to provide the students with the perfect environment for sitting their examinations, said ministry spokesman Muhammad Al-Dakhini. He added that over 2.7 million male and female students of elementary grades were evaluated earlier for their performance. Al-Dakhini said students in the intermediate third grade and high school classes will not be allowed to use calculators any more during their mathematics examinations. Absenteeism A Ministry of Education report revealed that absenteeism among teachers peaked at 12 percent in a week this academic year, Al-Madinah reported.
The number, which represents teachers all over the Kingdom, is considered to be significantly high, as it means that over 50,000 male and female teachers did not show up for work. The report concluded that unauthorized absenteeism has a great impact on the academic achievement of students. Meanwhile, education experts and school heads have called on the ministry to impose strict penalties to reduce absenteeism among students during the last days of the school year, Al-Madinah said. Some experts blamed teachers who encourage students not to show up in classes during the last week of the year. School principals urged parents to follow up with their children and make sure they go to school as absenteeism has a negative impact on their academic performance.
