Unity Day: What does it mean to you?
Yemeni students come out in great numbers to take final exams
Mohammed Al-Ghaweizi, an educator, said that the exams this year are more basic than usual. This is because the Ministry of Education has taken into account the repeated and frequent power outages, which have made it difficult for students to study. He added that subjects requiring two testing sessions, like Arabic and English, have been given only one session.
This year's examinations are being held in exceptional circumstances, following one year of protests that led to the ejection of longtime president Ali Abdullah Saleh from office. Violence during the protests resulted in hundreds of deaths.
The Examinations General Manager, Shukri Al-Hamami, pointed out that the first day of exams went smoothly overall. "There were two cases of cheating in the capital, and two cases of rioting in Al-Mithak school in Amran governorate and 30 November school in Sana'a before distributing the questions." Students sometimes resort to violence if they feel they are unable to pass the exams. This has become commonplace in rural tribal areas. "However, the situation is under control," said Al-Hamami.
He added that this year specific measures have been taken to stem any potential violence. For example, the number of security committees has increased, as well as the high number of supervisors of examination centers. These measures have been provided in the particular examination centers that witnessed chaos in previous years, according to Al-Hamami.
He said that the ministry decided on alternative centers for students who are unable to take their exams in conflict-stricken areas such as Aden, Abyan and Al-Baydha.
Mahyoob Al-Kamali, an education expert, said that the students' preparation this year is better than last because of greater political stability in a number of governorates nationwide.
332,000 primary school students, in addition to 212,000 secondary school students nationwide came out to take their exams on Saturday.
