QQA chief executive lauds national exams

Manama : Thousands of grade 12 students sat their national exams which began today will run until Wednesday, March 16.

More than 10,000 third secondary students from public schools and 6 private schools will be tested in Arabic, English and problem-solving.

The annual evaluative exams will be held under the supervision of the National Authority for Qualifications and Quality Assurance of Education & Training (QQA), in cooperation with the Ministry of Education.

The national exams reveal significant indicators reflecting the standard of public and private schools and students, and contribute to upgrading the output of the education process in accordance with the labour market needs.

They are held for grade three, six, nine and 12 students from public and private schools.

QQA Chief Executive Dr. Jawaher Al Mudhahki made an inspection visit to the Khawla Secondary Girls School, and was informed about the flow of the national exams.

She affirmed the national exams aim to assess the students' performance through high-quality assessment tools, designed according to the international standards to detect the level of the educational performance in Bahrain.

She said that QQA aims to make the results of grade 12 as one of the admission requirements for the universities in Bahrain.

She praised the organisation of the exams and expressed thanks to QQA's strategic partners, including the Ministry of Education and faculty and administrative bodies in schools for their efforts in facilitating the process of the national exams process.

She called on parents to encourage and support their sons' performance at the national exams, in order to measure their GPA.

QQA Acting Director of National Examinations Wafa Al-Yaqoobi said that the Directorate of National Examinations (DNE) has been working for eight years and gained enough experience to implement the exams with high efficiency and perform its desired tasks.

She stressed that the reports issued by QQA on the students' results must reflect the students' performance to indicate if they have mastered the skills.

She said that students' positive response towards the national exams will have an impact on the evaluation of the educational institutions' performance, which will develop the teaching and learning processes.