(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Taking a serious view of absenteeism in Independent Schools, the Minister of Education and Higher Education and Chairman of the Supreme Education Council H E Dr Mohammed bin Abdul Wahid bin Ali Al Hammadi yesterday issued decision No. 23 of 2014, barring erring students from taking continuous assessment tests and term examinations.
The decision applies to students from grades 4 to 12 and extensive rules to help implement it will be framed by the SEC, a statement by the council said.
According to it, starting from this school year a student will be prevented from taking the first assessment test for all subjects if he or she is absent from the school for seven (school) days in a row without any acceptable reason.
Similarly, if he or she is absent for 10 days consecutively (without any acceptable reason), the student will be barred from taking the second assessment test for all subjects.
If the absence exceeds 13 days uninterruptedly and without any justifiable reason, the student will not be allowed to take the third assessment test (for all subjects).
Assessment tests in Independent Schools are continuous appraisals of students' performance and give them an opportunity to score marks in each subject that are counted with the marks obtained in term examinations. For instance, out of 100 marks for a subject in a year, 10 may be assigned to an assessment test.
According to the decision, if a student is absent for 15 days in a row starting from this school year, and without any acceptable reason, he or she would not be permitted to take the first term examination.
The student will, however, be allowed to take the second term (final or yearly) examination but it will be for 100 marks for each subject. The punishment will carry a stigma as the student will be known as a 'Deprived Student' (Talib Mahroom). The Minister has asked the Education Institute of the SEC to frame rules to implement the decision.
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