DOHA: The poor results of this year’s second term examination for students of preparatory and secondary Independent schools have earned the ire of many parents, and education experts see them as proof of the failure of the Independent school system after 10 years of implementation.
In the Qatari Independent school system, for a student to get promoted he or she has to pass two sets of examinations, which consist of an exam conducted by the school and another by the Supreme Education Council (SEC).
Last year, the school exams carried more weight (70 percent) compared to the national exams (30 percent), but this academic year this was reversed, resulting in the failure of the large majority of test takers.
This school year, the school exams and national exams were conducted just two weeks apart.
In total, 7,333 students at the preparatory and secondary levels failed in the examination -- a large number for a small country like Qatar. This disappointed the children and parents, who had invested their time and money for their children’s education.
On Tuesday, many parents went to the education minister’s office demanding revocation of the results, which the Minister of Education and Higher Education, H E Dr Mohamed Abdul Wahid Al Hammadi, who is also Secretary-General of the SEC, rejected, saying the results were final and could not be altered. He, however, told them they could see for themselves how their children had performed by requesting re-evaluation of answer sheets through the laid down procedures.
To pacify the parents, the SEC asked them to fill out complaint forms to be forwarded to the relevant bodies.
A mother said her son was one of those who performed well in school; in fact he had passed the first term exams.
“But he failed the second term exams, which were traumatic for him, so we had to take him to the doctor,” she said.
Umm Badr, another mother, was frustrated that her daughter would lose an entire academic year for failing in one subject.
“Why doesn’t the SEC change this policy? Even teachers were shocked by the results,” she said.
Some of the students felt they were victims of the national exams and the online evaluation system.
“We may have our own weaknesses, but the evaluation was not satisfactory as many of us were not aware of the big weight the second term exams would carry,” said a student.
Mohammad, another student, said: “I accept my failure, but the exam was way above our level, which the school failed to raise. Our weaknesses were not addressed at the primary school level and got exacerbated at the secondary level.”
“The questions were so difficult to understand because we were not used to such type of questions, and they encompass the entire year. I think it would be better for students to have semester examinations rather than conducting it at one time at the end of the school year,” said Hassa, another student.
A big factor that caused the failures, she pointed out, was students’ lack of adequate preparation for the exams.
“There was only a two-week gap between the school and national exams, and that was not enough for us to prepare,” she said.
Hamad Hanzab, a preparatory school director, said the percentage of students who failed was high and the majority of them had failed in mathematics.
“This is because the examination was recently introduced, and last year it did not exceed 30 percent weight in the total score, so the students did not take it seriously. But this year it was changed to 70 percent,” he said.
He admitted the examinations could have been above the level of the students since Independent schools come up with their own teaching content.
“A common syllabus is followed but the content is determined by the teacher, so how were they able to come up with the exams?” he asked, adding that the new exam system was not explained to the parents through the media or other means of communication.
He suggested the exams be conducted twice a year and not at one time. He criticised the professional file, which requires teachers to attend training sessions and workshops to update their professional qualifications. This puts additional burden on teachers, making them less effective.
“They spend too much time in workshops and training courses which are done during the school year parallel to teaching,” he said.
Another school operator said the shocking exam results were the outcome of the SEC’s wrong policy. In the past, he said, the SEC’s policy encouraged Independent schools to pass students in exams to show the system as successful, at the expense of quality education.
“This policy bred complacency among students and parents, who thought they would pass anyway, so the examinations were not taken seriously,” he said.
Wadha Al Naimi, director of Barzan Preparatory School, feels the SEC should be dissolved and there should instead be separate departments for primary, preparatory and secondary schools under the umbrella of the education ministry.
“The ministry can also be responsible for hiring qualified teachers instead of the schools recruiting the teaching staff,” she said, adding the SEC must make policy amendments in the light of the exam results.
According to a school operator, the evaluation system needs to be flexible and not be the basis for passing or failing students.
Dr Amina Al Emadi, an education expert who said she had warned earlier of possible negative results of the second term exam, demanded it be cancelled or more weight be given to exams conducted by the schools.
Since there was no proper coordination between the schools and the Evaluation Institute at the SEC, they didn’t know the ability and preparedness of the students for whom they were conducting the exams, she said.
The SEC suffered from instability in policymaking and decisions that hurt the education system, which had ultimately affected students, she added.
Blaming the SEC’s policies, she said the curriculum should be centralised and not left to the discretion of each school.
Dr Ahmad Al Emadi, a professor at Qatar University’s College of Education, said that in its first year of implementation, the transition from 30 percent to 70 percent weight had caught the students by surprise.
He said one of the main reasons for the failure of the students was that the Independent school system was introduced without being piloted.
Piloting, he said, was important as it shows both the negative and positive of aspects of a new system; and when it was introduced the students were made to pass when they were not supposed to.
Qatar University students dropping out were a manifestation of an education system short of achievements as these students were products of the Independent school system, he added.
With regard to the curriculum, he said it was not logical for schools to prepare their own, and the SEC could seek help or support from professional teachers and university professors to prepare the educational material.
Dr Ghadnana Saeed Albinali of QU College of Education was of the same view on the detrimental effect of Independent schools devising their own curriculum.
“Students were not familiar with the exams and this needs to create awareness among students and parents, who were most affected by what happened,” she said.
The parents of those who had failed, she said, were left in a limbo, not knowing who was responsible for the failure, the school or the SEC.
She also pointed out the problem of shortage of teachers in Independent schools, which has prompted many of them to hire unqualified teachers.
Some experts, however, believe that teachers alone can’t bear the responsibility because they are overloaded with work and students stay for long hours in schools.
Musaad Saeed Al Hajaji, a human resources expert, said the SEC’s policies keep teachers busy attending training courses to finish their professional file, an annual requirement for them.
“Such kind of professional training should be given only to new teachers and not to seasoned ones,” he said.
Long working hours and few benefits have made teaching an unattractive profession, and few Qataris accept teaching jobs.
“For example, petroleum companies provide clubs and other forms of leisure to their employees, which teachers don’t enjoy,” he said.
National exams, he said, needed to be reviewed and prepared according to the curriculum. Teachers’ opinions should be considered in drafting the curriculum, which should be prepared by experts.
Dr Hassan Rashid, a writer, said the experience of Independent schools was new for Qataris, therefore, the system needed assessment and amendment in policies taking into consideration the outcomes of the past 10 years.
He is for the adoption and implementation of disciplinary rules for students because he believes teachers need to be respected.
“The Minister of Education must take a brave decision to stop this examination since there is no common curriculum followed in the exams and this causes high rates of failures, disappointing students and parents,” said Abdulaziz Al Mulla, an education expert, adding the education ministry earlier did not interfere in school exams.
Faisal Al Marzooki, a columnist, said more than 5,000 students had lost one year of their lives because of the results of the exams.
He said the current education system did not maintain the honour and dignity of teachers as many teachers of Independent schools had been found coaching students in giving the correct answers in exams.
“And this is happening because of the school director’s policies that make teachers accountable for students’ failure. This encourages teachers to construct easy questions and be more flexible in their corrections.”
Such practices would make the Qatari community suffer, he said, adding that the SEC was also putting pressure on Independent schools and forcing them to try their best to come up with satisfactory exam results at their level.
He said the former education minister’s policies had, to a great extent, contributed to the current mess in education in the country.
THE PENINSULA
DOHA: The failure of thousands of students in the national examinations conducted by the Supreme Education Council has drawn flak online from Qatari netizens, who see it as a failure of the Independent school system.
Faisal Marzooki expressed utter disbelief at the results, tweeting: “It is interesting to see none of the schools in Doha passed,” adding that what had happened was the “result of taking decisions alone and sheer arrogance.”
“Nobody is condemning this crime, which has continued for 12 years, and the people who have committed this crime are still in position,” he continued.
He called those who had failed “victims”, and criticised the people for their silence: “We lost a lot, including the future of our children, because of our silence.”
“Our education system has always been a victim and waste of time because of random plans and unstudied policies,” tweeted Amina Al Kuwari.
“We were looking forward with hope to the Independent school system, but this high rate of failure is shocking, and unfortunately nobody is feeling concerned,” said Mubarak.
The Independent school system must be scrapped and there should be a return to the old education system, according to one Aisha.
Another Twitter user, Khaled, blamed teachers for the results, “Teachers don’t have the feeling that they belong to the profession, and students have lost their identity. What do you expect from the result?”
Darea Al Dosari said everyone had their share in the failure of the students, from the SEC to the parents and the students themselves.
“Parents have their share in this because they are not doing the necessary follow-up with their children at home,” she said.
Students, on the other hand, are to blame for their failure because they don’t spend much time studying and doing their homework, instead they spend a lot of time playing electronic games and going to souqs, she added.
She blamed the SEC for the absence of regulations on student discipline and the presence of unqualified Independent school operators, which contributed to an extent to the students’ failure.
“The curriculum does not suit the students’ learning needs and the student evaluation policy is unclear,” she said.
A review of policies on student evaluation, close contact with parents, and consultation with parents in developing educational policies were some of Al Dosari’s recommendations.
“I suggest the minister select qualified staff who would go to the field to assess the situation themselves and not just wait for reports.”
