Egyptian school students protest against the new grading system amid tight security (Photo: Al-Ahram)
Tens of high school students gathered on Saturday in front of Cairo's education ministry downtown to protest a new decision that allocates 10 percent of the students' grades to attendance and behaviour.
Tight security was present at the gates of the ministry to prevent the Thanaweya amma, or final year, students from entering the building, Ahram Arabic website reported.
This is the second time this week that students have protested outside the ministry. However, Minister of Education El-Sherbini previously told Ahram’s Arabic website that the ministry stands by their decision.
The new electronic system, enacted at the beginning of the 2015/2016 academic year, was introduced by education minister El-Helali El-Sherbini and aims to improve students’ attendance.
In previous years, 100 percent of the high school students' grades were based on their performance on the final year's exams.
This year, 531,800 have registered for Thanaweya amma, the final year of high school, which determines who qualifies to attend universities and colleges.
Thanaweya amma students must take highly competitive and complex tests in order to continue into tertiary education. Which institutions accept them depends on their marks.
Tests in recent years have been marred by cheating and the leaking of exam questions on social media websites.
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