Tawjihi

Tawjihi is the general secondary examination in Jordan, West Bank and Gaza, part of education in Jordan and education in Palestine. Upon graduation, the ministry of Higher Education, through a system similar to that of the United Kingdom tariff points, transforms the Grades/Marks of these foreign educational programs, into the same marks used in grading Tawjihi students. However, even after the equivalency transformation, non-Tawjihi graduates are not allowed to compete with Tawjihi graduates for public university places. For non-Tawjihi graduates, there is a set quota of 5% of places. Most graduates of foreign programs end up paying international fees to get a place in their desired faculty. The reason for this, is that the quota set for the number of seats was decided in the 80's when approximately only 4 schools taught international programs, and the number of places allocated seemed fair. In fact, seeing the insignificant number of foreign program graduates, who applied for national universities, it was. Today, however, almost 25 schools teach IGCSE/GCSE/GCE programs alone.

Some argue the number of places is more than fair, and some the opposite. In all cases the issue is a source of much heated debate. Private schools are constantly trying to convince the National Assembly of Jordan to increase percentage. For the time being there seems to be no plan to do so.

The ministry of Education claims that it has no problem with increasing the number of places, and that it is in fact the universities that do not agree. On some level this is rather true, as universities benefit more by the registration of more students as international i.e. paying international fees.

Another source of trouble is the system used to transform exam results of foreign education programs into the Tawjihi scale, which is a percentage out of 100. Again, some see the system as fair and in fact over lenient with non-Tawjihi graduates, while others see it as unfair. Below is a summary of the requirements to receive an equivalency of Tawjihi, as stated by the British Council Jordan.

Foreign Programs Tawjihi Equivalency

Foreign secondary education programs such as IGCSEs, SATs, and International Baccalaureate require have Tawjihi-equivalency so that the student could later work in Jordan or proceed to a higher education in Jordan.

IGCSE/A-Levels Equivalency

• V.IMPORTANT:

-THE O-LEVEL MARK obtained in year 10 HONORS 75% OF THE FINAL TAWJIHI GRADE HOWEVER THE 2 A-LEVELS OBTAINED over GRADES 11 & 12 HONOR THE REMAINING 25% OF THE FINAL TAWJIHI MARK.

• You should provide the Ministry with a proof that you have completed 12 years of schooling.
• You must pass six O-levels and or IGCSE/GCSE subjects and two A-level subjects. Passing grades are as follows:
  • IGCSE/GCSE : A, B, C and D.
  • AS/A2 : A, B,C,D, and E
• For Arab students one of the eight subjects should be Arabic language at either the O or A level. The following Arabic subjects are accepted for the equivalency:
  • Modern Arabic.
  • Classical Arabic.
  • First Language Arabic.
  • Arabic 9164.

The Ministry of Education in the UK will not accept GCSE Arabic 1605 as one of the eight subjects for equivalency purposes for the Arab/Jordanian student studying in Jordan. The Ministry will consider acceptance if the student was enrolled in an English language medium school outside Jordan for the majority of his/her scholastic years. The Ministry will consider case by case whether to grant the equivalency.

• In order to gain a Science Stream Tawjihi equivalency the following is needed
  • six subjects at the IGCSE or "O" level exams including:
    • two science subjects
    • One subject Arabic language
  • two subjects at the A-level including:
    • Obligatory subject:
      • one full A-level Math, OR
      • 2 AS's mathematics, OR
      • A-level in physics
    • Optional subject:
      • a full A- level in any science,OR
      • 2 AS's in two Sciences
• Literary stream: to gain Tawjihi equivalency the following is needed:
  • six passes in IGCSE or “O” level exams including:
    • one subject in Mathematics
    • one subject in Computer Studies/Information Technology
  • two subjects at the A-level including:
    • Obligatory subject:
      • one full A-level must be in Arabic
    • Optional subject:
      • A full A-level in any literary subject or
      • two AS’s in any two literary subjects or
      • one AS in a literary subject and one AS in a scientific subject.
• At the advanced level Computing is considered a science subject. At the ordinary level Computer Studies and Information Technology are considered as science subjects.
• Co-ordinated Science: for Tawjihi equivalency purposes the Ministry of Education has agreed to equate the Co-ordinated Science as two subjects. Students sitting for Co-ordinated Science should not sit the exams for individual science subjects (i.e. biology, chemistry and physics) as they will not be considered as additional subjects.
• AS levels: The Ministry of Education has agreed that two AS subjects are equivalent to one A level for Tawjihi Equivalency purposes. To receive an equivalency for a science subject the two AS subjects should be science subjects (i.e. AS Biology + AS Chemistry). If one AS is a science subject and the other is a literary subject (i.e. AS Math. + AS Arabic) then it equals one A level towards the literary stream. The student should check with the university they are applying to whether they require a full A level or not.
• The Ministry of Education will consider the same subject in two levels as two separate subjects (O level Biology and A level Biology).
• The candidate may re-sit the exam as many times as he/she needs before obtaining the equivalency. If the student wants to re-sit a subject after obtaining the equivalency in order to improve his/her grade point average then the student has to re-sit all eight subjects.

International Baccalaureate Equivalency

• You should provide the Ministry with a proof that you have completed 12 years of schooling.
• You should pass in 6 subjects. Passing grades are as follows:
  • Standard Level Subjects: 3-7
  • Higher Level Subjects: 4-7
• Arab students do not have a special requirement.
• In order to gain a Science Stream Tawjihi equivalency the following is needed:
  • 2 Language subjects in either Group 1 or Group 2
  • 1 Subject in either Group 3 or Group 6
  • 2 Subjects from Group 4
  • 1 Subject from Group 5
  • At least 2 of these subjects should be at Higher Level
• In order to gain a Literary Stream Tawjihi equivalency the following is needed:
  • 2 Language subjects in either Group 1 or Group 2
  • 2 Subject in either Group 3 or Group 6
  • 1 Subjects from Group 4
  • 1 Subject from Group 5
  • At least 2 of these subjects should be at Higher Level

For The international baccalaureate the equivalency goes as follows: Each subject is calculated individually then they are summed up and divided by 6, then a 0.3% is added for each point scored from the diploma program

• A 7 is awarded a 98%,
• A 6 is awarded a 90%,
• A 5 is awarded an 80%,
• A 4 is awarded a 70%,
• A 3 is awarded a 60%
• A 2 is awarded a 50%,

Keep in mind that a 2 is considered a fail and a 3 is considered a fail if it is in higher level.

An example of equivalency for a science stream student: He obtained a score of 35. A 7 (98%) in Chemistry HL, a 6 (90%) in Physics SL, a 4 (70%) in ITGS SL, a 5 (80%) in Mathematics SL, a 5 (80%) in Arabic A1 SL, a 6 (90%) in English B SL and 2 marks from ToK and EE (0.3%×2=0.6%). Here is the calculation:

1. 98+90+70+80+80+90=508,
2. 508 is then divided over 6=84.667,
3. then 0.6 is added,
4. the result is 85.27%.

Some people believe the equivalency is not fair for IB students, and it should be higher since the subjects the IB students take are much higher and are more cumulative than the Tawjiihi. The IB is said to be the most challenging stream available in Jordan.

Official Tawjihi results in Palestine are on http://www.e4t.net/tawjihi
Official Tawjihi results for the 2008/2009 in Jordan are on http://www.memac.com/tawjihi

See also

• Education in Jordan