Thanaweya Amma (Arabic: ثانوية عامة ) is a series of standardized tests in Egypt that lead to the General Secondary Education Certificate for public secondary schools and serves as the entrance examination for Egyptian public universities. Thanaweya Amma means 'General Secondary' in Modern Standard Arabic. In the context of Egypt's education system, it refers to the general (as opposed to technical or vocational) secondary education track, the completion exams at the end of the track, and the diploma a student earns by passing the exams. This article is about the exams.
Overview At the end of the final year of secondary school, students sit for comprehensive examinations for each of the five core subjects they took that year. The content of the exams and their relative weight in scoring depends on the students' curricular concentration, either Literature Stream, Science Stream, or Math Stream. These scores are turned into a composite and ranked within each track. The top scores are published online. Thanaweya Amma is one of several examinations that public school students take that serves dual purpose of completion certificate and entrance examination, determining what education pathways students will follow. Students at the end of primary school sit for the qabuul examination, which determines their admittance into general preparatory school. At the end of preparatory school, students sit for the Adaadiya Amma (General Preparatory) examination which serves as the completion certificate for preparatory school. High scores admit students to the General Secondary track, while low scores will track students to technical or vocational secondary school. More students enroll in technical school than general secondary school; in 2005/6 approximately 38.7% of secondary students were in the general secondary track. The Thanaweya Amma examination is taken by students who have completed the General Secondary track; students who are tracked into vocational or technical schools do not sit for the exam and have little chance of attending university. Thanaweya Amma can also be taken by private school students in national curriculum schools accredited by the Ministry of Education. Additionally, private language schools can teach students the national curriculum but with certain core subjects taught in languages other than Arabic. The Ministry of Education has translated the exams to accommodate. Thanaweya Amma has historically tested acquired knowledge, though reforms beginning in the 1990s introduced aptitude assessment as well.
University Entrance The admissions process to Egyptian public universities is managed by the Coordination Office of the Ministry of Higher Education (usually referred to as Tansiq). Each year, the office publishes a list of colleges and institutes and the minimum test scores required for each. Students who have completed their exam submit their preferences and the Coordination Office places them in a program. For 2012, the most demanding programs in terms of Thanaweya Amma scores were:
For 2012, the least demanding programs in terms of Thanaweya Amma scores were:
History
Tradition of Assessment during Ottoman and British Rule Eleanor Hargreaves argues that the Thanaweya Amma draws on assessment traditions grounded in the introduction of European education in Egypt through colonial structures. During 19th and first half of the 20th centuries, assessment served the function of selecting elites for military or civil service. The earliest predecessor to the exam dates back to the French occupation of Egypt from 1798 to 1801, during which the French initiated an assessment system to screen for elite candidates for military college. After the end of the occupation, Mohammed Ali assumed power and undertook large-scale efforts to modernize the Egyptian state, including expanding the education system. Subsequent reforms set up a Baccalaureate system in which elite Mamluks attended secondary school and sat for exams to attend higher education and gain admittance to Egypt's military or civil service. During the British occupation from 1882 to 1952, the assessment system continued to serve this function. This period saw the advent of elementary schools which, though exclusive and fee-based, helped prepare students for secondary school. Because the overall function of the education system was still to train elite Egyptians for service in British colonial bureaucracy, the number of positions available upon completion were limited. Thus, a primary school assessment system was implemented to screen for elite candidates to compete for bureaucratic positions in secondary school. Primary school enrollment remained low.
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