Algerian baccalaureate candidates anxiously await results

22/06/2009

After dealing with the stress of the bac exams, Algerian students must wait until July 10th to learn their results.

By Hayam El Hadi for Magharebia in Algiers – 22/06/09

[Fethi Belaid/AFP/Getty Images] Algerian students and their families nervously wait for bac exam results.

Algerian baccalaureate candidates have to sit it out for a whole month after taking their exams to find out whether or not they passed. The wait is even more nerve-wracking than the exams themselves.

The 23,000 baccalaureate examiners began marking papers on June 21st, but the Ministry of Education will not announce the results until July 10th. Parents and children are trying their best to deal with the anxiety.

"There's certainly plenty of stress involved in revising and on the day of the exam itself, but at that point you're doing something. When you're waiting, there's nothing you can do and that's stressful," Nihad told Magharebia.

"I keep telling myself I'm on holiday and should make the most of it," she added, "but I just can't. I go to the beach from time to time and I chat with my friends on the Internet, but the thought of my results hangs over me the whole time. I can't stop thinking about them, especially since I'm also under pressure from my parents."

Her mother, Meriem, is just as nervous. "I feel as if my whole life is revolving around the wait for her results," she said.

"I keep telling myself my daughter is a good student and ought to have no problem passing her baccalaureate, but I just can't relax. I'll only calm down the day I see her name on the list of those who have passed."

Other candidates are taking a more philosophical approach to the wait.

"I did all I could," said Ali. "I worked hard all year. I took extra classes and pulled all-nighters. I'm waiting for the results calmly and am telling myself I did my best. Why should I worry about something that's out of my hands now? While waiting for the fateful day I'm now making the most of my free time."

His mother, Fatiha, disapproves of his lack of concern. "I don't understand how he can be so relaxed while his father and I can't stop fidgeting," she commented. "I really want him to pass and go on to higher education. I can't face the thought of him failing."

"Every day I pray he'll pass. If he does, I'm going to have a big party. I'll invite the family, my neighbours, and my friends. I'd like to share my pride with them," Fatiha said.

For the first time this year, the Education Ministry set up a Result Collation and Announcement Centre to issue all provisional result slips and certificates.