A number of Egyptian high school students have attempted to commit suicide over the past week due to concerns about their exam results, according to a report yesterday by The National.
Egypt's secondary school examinations, Thanaweya Amma, are notorious for the immense pressure that they place on students. The exams, which take place during the final year of high school, carry significant weight as they play a pivotal role in determining which university students can attend and their subsequent career paths.
The report noted that on Monday, an 18-year-old pupil in Cairo's Nasr City district was admitted to hospital following a failed attempt on her own life. She had apparently not yet received her results but was under a lot of psychological pressure.
One student from the southern province of Sohag, however, committed suicide minutes after receiving her examination results, which showed that she had failed in some subjects. She reportedly ingested a toxic substance. Four female students attempted suicide in the province of Qalyubia, and another three tried to take their own lives in the province of Sharqia, including a girl who feared that her family would react badly if she had failed.
According to Egypt Today, this academic year's pass rate was 78.8 per cent, achieved by 598,723 students. This is an improvement from last year, when the figure was 74.47 per cent. In the 2020/21 academic year it was 73.64 per cent.
The report also said that 118,605 students will retake the exams, while 42,348 students will have to retake the whole course.
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