The British Council met with the Jordanian Minister of Education, Dr Tayseer Al Noaimi to agree processes and procedures for UK international exams for October/November in light of Covid-19.

 

Several procedures were agreed including issuing permits for candidates throughout the examination period to ensure they can still attend the exam sitting in case of a lockdown.

 

Candidates testing positive for Covid-19 are no longer required to take a PCR test at the end of their 14 days quarantine period. Candidates who were in contact with a confirmed Covid-19 case will no longer be required to take PCR test to attend the exam. However, they need to closely monitor their health condition in case of any symptoms.

 

The examination session started on October 1 and will end on November 24. Almost 16,000 exams will be sat by students from 61 British Council partner schools in Jordan.

 

British Council invigilators will ensure all candidates are wearing protective equipment, conduct temperature checks and maintain a distance of 2 metres between candidates.

 

Candidates will also sign a declaration form stating they are free from Covid19 symptoms, in addition other precautionary measures will be fulfilled, in line with directives from the Jordanian Ministry of Health.

 

Dr Al-Nuaimi affirmed: “The ministry is keen to enable our students to take their exams in the approved centres within protocols that guarantee their health and safety. The Ministry therefore confirms the need for sufficient flexibility by the implementing partners to allow infected candidates, who were not able to sit for their exams, to go through a special consideration process to adjust their mark without breaching

any qualification terms.”

 

Joel Bubbers, Country Director of British Council in Jordan said: “This has been a challenging year and challenging time for students sitting for the UK International Curriculum exams in October/November. We are working closely with the Ministry of Education and the UK Examination Boards to run the October/November session safely and smoothly. The

health and safety of students remains our top priority and we will continue to maintain the highest levels of safety precautions during the examination session”.

 

He added: “I would like to emphasise the importance of open communication during this period; with the Ministry and partner schools, and I am proud that our experience with our partners has been exceptional in this regard”.

 

The UK Examining Board partners are responsible for policies regarding the awarding of qualifications. Students who miss an exam will be asked by the UK examination Board to go through the ‘Special Considerations’ process, which is a post-exam adjustment made to a candidate’s mark, by an awarding body, to make allowances for some adverse circumstances. Further information for candidates will be provided by the relevant Examining Board. -- Tradearabia News Service