20 Reasons on Why Tawjihi is Wrong!

As June 16^th is approaching, around 120,000 students will be heading to the overheated test halls in different schools around the Kingdom to sit for the Tawjihi exam. The Tawjihi, which consists of 14 exams in every subject you can think of, not only exhausts the brains of young people, but also limits motivation and creativity. So the question is, why is Tawjihi wrong?

1.       Tawjihi depends on how much you memorize, not how much you understand: Let’s take the Social Studies book for example. Besides the many factual errors in the book, students have to mechanically memorize 220 pages of outdated and boring information that has no practical use whatsoever. Topics include memorizing what every single King of Jordan achieved in every aspect of life. The funny thing is that many of them had done the same thing, but is phrased differently in the book, and if you happen to know the “general idea” of what’s going on, say goodbye to 2 or more points. Another concrete example is the religion book. The religion book is just another 300 or so pages that have to be memorized word-by-word. Many of the subjects are about Islamic Jurisprudence and other topics that will never be applied in every day life.

2.       Tawjihi shows how little you know. Math is one of the most feared and dreaded exams in the Tawjihi. Tawjihi math covers University Calculus I and II, a good thing in my opinion. The bad thing about it is how it’s mechanically taught, step by step, without seeking to make the student understand the concepts. Tawjihi question makers make sure no one gets a full mark, and if it happens, your math teacher(s) will remember you forever.

3.       Tawjihi Questions are sometimes WRONG. It’s funny how many times your math or chemistry teacher points out a wrong question in the 1997, 2002 or some other exam sheet saying that the person who wrote that question is retarded.

4.       Tawjihi makes you unsatisfied with what you’ve got.  Parents force their Tawjihi-to-be to start studying the summer before Tawjihi. Not only that, they make sure you are taught by the best teachers in Amman. Of course, that is not an easy task. Your mom or dad has to a million phonecalls for a “wasta” to get a spot in the class that has been closed since April. In September, students make sure they have “doseyat” from every single teacher in Amman in every single subject. I think they go with the proverb, “the more the merrier.”

5.       Tawjihi makes you study physics. Now, to be honest, physics was never my favorite subject and I have no interest in studying it in university. Then, the important question is, why do I have to study it? Tawjihi makes you study every discipline ever created on Earth? Why? Why can’t the students chose subjects they are interested in and want to study in the future?

6.       Tawjihi starts late, and finishes WAY too late. Tawjihi usually starts mid June and ends early July. It really hurts to see your younger sibling done one month before you while you’re holding that chunky Religion book trying to figure out why in Earth you are destined to memorize it.

7.       The Tawjihi schedule is just messed up. Why should there be ½ a day before Social Studies and 4 days before 3^rd grade English? Not only that, it’s just an amazing experience when your exam is on the first day after Eid. I mean, that just HURTS.

8.       Tawjihi Kills. Literally. Many students have had heart attacks, health problems, Nescafe addictions, and sometimes it even reaches suicide. The freshmen 15 will be nothing compared to the Tawjihi hundred which you’ll struggle to get rid of.

9.       Tawjihi and family. If you happen to be the eldest, you sure have to show the whole extended family you are the smartest and keep the family’s dignity (or line for that matter.) If you have other siblings who have gone through the same misery, you have to get higher, even if that means getting 98%

10.   Tawjihi introduces new favorite study places. Forget about the library, the toilet, according to many students, is the new best studying place; there you get to do your thing, study, and, consequently, save some time.

11.   Some Tawjihi paper correctors have no work ethics. Many correctors are unqualified to correct papers of a certain subject. For example, geology teachers might be correcting biology papers. It’s even worse when a computer science teacher corrects English papers. Moreover, many correctors are nonchalant during corrections. Don’t they realize that the “future” of someone lies in their hands? HELLO?

12.   Tawjihi hall conditions are terrible. Its 4 C outside and the windows of the hall are all broken and you have to write 8 pages of that 220 Social Studies book. You are covered with every piece of cloth you’ve got and you’re still shivering. The luckiest you can get is to give the test in a private school with central heating, but besides that, sorry!

13.   Tawjihi defines you. The grade you get will hunt you for the rest of your live. You’ll be 70 and your grandchild will ask you about that number. You might lose employment because of that number even if you’ve excelled in your higher education. Reality bites.

14.   Tawjihi is against non-Jordanians. Has anyone noticed that all number one students are Jordanian? Is it me, or do all Jordanians happen to be smart? Also, authorities will never hesitate to take off points from you to let the son or daughter of an Army member to be number one in school.

15.   Tawjihi is manipulative. You’re asking how number 12 happens? Well, students write compositions or writing pieces worth 50 points and that’s where the points go. The argument is, correcting compositions is subjective and you can’t change that.

16.   Tawjihi determines your future. The worst drawback of Tawjihi is that it controls your future. Do you happen to be an aspired doctor but happen to be average at Math or Geology? Well, tough luck, you better start working on that, that is, if it’s workable.

17.    “Tawjihi is the best system around.” Well, at least that’s what Toukan claims. Ironic how his son, and many members of the Toukan family, are studying or have studied at the Amman Baccalaureate School (Which teaches the IB curriculum) and are now completing their education in the States.

18.   Tawjihi does not teach you English, it makes you memorize words. You should also take a look at the definitions of the words in the glossary. Your second grade brother would be ashamed.

19.   The Tawjihi aftermath. When college starts, you’ll either be in the college of your choice, or lamenting your luck in some other college. Either way, you’ll have zero motivation and maybe even less creativity left.

20.   Even if you can go back in time, you will be forced to do it all over again. It’s irremovable.

 

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