Tunisian students await baccalaureate results

2009-06-19

Now that the baccalaureate exams are done, Tunisian students have something new to worry about: their results. Many will be glued to their mobiles to learn the answer via SMS.

By Mona Yahya for Magharebia in Tunis – 19/06/09

[Getty] Tunisians will learn their bac results on Sunday (June 21st).

Anticipation and tension grow among Tunisian students and their families as they wait for the results of the baccalaureate exams, scheduled to be announced on Sunday (June 21st).

In order to get results on their cell phones, many students registered for the SMS service made available by the ministry of education to get the results on their cell phones.

For some, that's not soon enough.

"I’ve been looking for someone inside the ministry who can help me know my result," said Ali. Like many others, Ali thought connections in the ministry will help him get the results earlier. "But I failed," he said.

More than 139,000 students sat for the first round of bac exams from June 3rd through the 10th. Some students at the time said that the exams in general were easy for the average student, but subject to good revision and concentration.

Manal, an arts section student, said that philosophy, Arabic and French exams were not difficult. Students did everything they could, she said.

"Now it's in the hands of the graders."

Other students, like Sami, complained about the difficulty of the English language exam for the arts section, as well as the other sections in the last day.

"I didn’t understand the meaning of some of the questions," Sami said. "There were too many vocabularies that I’ve read for the first time in the exam."

Radia, an English language teacher, disagreed, saying that the exam was easy for the average student – if they took the time to study.

"The problem of mastering the languages," he said, "is one of the problems facing the education in Tunisia. However, this doesn’t mean that the exam was difficult… If there is a problem, it is in the candidates themselves and how prepared they were for the exams."

Now, days after the exams, anxious students can only wait.

"Nothing can be speculated," Munira, another arts section student, said. "Sometimes we think that we did well in the exams, but then the grader would have a different opinion."

But that’s not entirely true.

"The grading criteria are governed by strict rules," explained Faris, philosophy teacher. "They are published in Tunisian newspapers. In addition, two teachers do the grading, which leaves no room at all for any errors. In case of a big difference between the two graders, a third one is called."

The exams took a toll on the students. Signs of fatigue and exhaustion are clear on the faces of some students.

"I’m extremely tired," said Soha, a natural sciences student. "Now I want to take some rest, and enjoy the sea and sun. I need to stop thinking about the baccalaureate."

She is already preparing herself in case she fails: "I can do light revision sessions lest I should fail in the main round and find myself forced to undergo a re-test."

Montasser, a math section student, preferred not to talk or think about the exams. Rather, he chose to have fun with his friends pending the announcement of the results.

On the other hand, some families, knowing that their children have done well in the exams, are preparing for celebration parties. Rodha is one of them.

"I shall, God willing, celebrate my son’s success, and hold a special soiree at home," she said. Still, that doesn’t take away the suspense and tension, she said.

"Although I’m sure of his success, fear is still haunting me, and like all other mothers, I will be waiting for the results to see them with my own eyes in order to be completely sure."