Muscat: Angry parents demanded a review after over 10,000 students failed in the first semester exam of General Education Diploma. While some parents blamed the mass failure on difficult questions, others said the introduction of online assessment led to errors in final tallying. Jokha al Shamakhi, a member of the Al Dhahirah Municipal Council, in her social media post, said students found physics, chemistry, and some Arabic questions challenging to solve within the time.
Huda al Balushi, mother of a student who failed, says, “My son has been an excellent student over the past few years, but he was surprised by the difficulty of the exams this year. The questions were very complex, and he needed much more time to complete them. I feel there is a gap between what students are taught and what is required of them in the exam.”
This opinion is not limited to parents; even teachers themselves believe that the question paper setters did not take into account individual differences among students, as if they wanted to test students' ability to tackle challenging questions more than measuring their academic achievement.
Many teachers said some of the examiners lacked sufficient experience in handling the answer format with flexibility, especially since they were new recruits.
Salem al Maqbali, the parent of another student, recounted his experience, saying, “When we received my son’s results, we were shocked by the low scores.” I tried to review some of his answers with a private tutor and he told me that some of the answers were correct, but they weren’t counted because he didn’t write them in the same way as the answer sheet. This is unfair to the students!”
Al Maqbali added that digital marking has made matters worse, as some teachers are not yet proficient in it, leading to errors in assessments.
Parents also called for a review of upcoming exams to ensure they are fairer, with training courses provided for examiners to ensure accurate assessments and avoid unfair treatment of students.
Hassan al Busafi, the parent of a student who failed, confirms that what happened will negatively impact students’ confidence and increase their pressure in the second semester. Al Busafi says, “The issue is not limited to failure, but rather a loss of confidence in the education system. Our children are feeling frustrated and some have begun to consider dropping out of school after this disappointing result.”
With growing calls for reforming the education system, the question arises as to whether the Ministry of Education will make changes to upcoming exams or to the marking mechanisms.
Education experts believe that the solution lies not only in modifying exams, but in setting clear criteria that ensure a balance between measuring students’ knowledge level and preventing them from being overwhelmed by questions beyond their capabilities.
MOE Responds
The Ministry of Education (MoE) has issued a statement addressing what has been circulated on social media concerning the "first semester failure rate"
According to the ministry, the circulated information is scientifically incorrect. The Ministry clarified that the term "those who failed in the first semester" is inaccurate, as success and failure are determined by the final academic year results.
According to the Ministry, the academic achievement indicators for the General Education Diploma in the first semester of the 2024/2025 academic year amounted to 80.76%, which aligns closely with the first-semester results of the past three academic years, as those percentages amounted to 80.24%, 80.78%, and 80.85%, respectively.
This consistency suggests that the percentage of students who did not achieve the minimum passing grade of 50 points remains within the normal range, the ministry clarified. In the statement, the MoE further highlighted that a significant number of students achieved high grades, with 20,269 students scoring between 80% and 99.88%, including 8,660 students who surpassed 90%. The Ministry said this semester’s results are consistent with previous years and remain within the expected average.
It reaffirmed its commitment to improving student performance through curriculum development, educational supervision, modern technologies, teacher training, and other initiatives implemented across various levels.
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