Criticism of ‘reckless’ Tawjihi celebrations flood local Twittersphere

AMMAN — As Tawjihi results were announced Tuesday, tweeps called on those who passed to refrain from festive firing as a demonstration of joy and called for respecting the law.

Several others called for drastic measures to reform the General Secondary Education Certificate Examination, as the majority of those who pass are females, while passing rates in some academic fields were low.

Posts on Tawjihi filled the local Twittersphere as many students celebrating their scores drove around in processions and families of many others fired bullets in the air.

“It’s not ‘traditional’ to shoot off guns when you pass #Tawjihi. It is idiotic,” Tamer (@TamerGar) tweeted.

Hanin Abu-Shamat (‏@HaninSh) agreed. 

“Dear #Tawjihi students, please celebrate responsibly. Respecting others and caring about their safety reflects your good citizenship,” she tweeted.

Rana HKJ ‏(@RanaAlanabtawi) said celebrating should not lead to the misery and death of others.

“Those who passed have the right to celebrate and express joy, but they should not make other people miserable with their festive firing and reckless driving,” she tweeted.

According to the Ministry of Education, the passing rate for the scientific stream was 59.1 per cent, while it was 20.9 per cent in the literary stream, 29.8 per cent in the IT stream and 20.3 per cent in the Sharia stream.

The majority of top scorers in Tawjihi were girls, a trend that tweeps said has been ongoing for several years.

“There is a need for drastic and serious solutions and strategies to address this gap between the genders,” Shireen (@SHireenjor) tweeted.

Hamed (@hamedsem32) had similar remarks.

“We need solutions to this phenomenon and to the low passing rates. We need to raise the alarm,” he wrote.