Saturday, the Ministry of Education published health protocol for students' ‘Tawjihi’ examinations for 2020, which are scheduled between Dec. 31 and Jan. 16 2021.

The Ministry stated that the protocol framework aims to apply the best practices and international protocols to tackle the pandemic. The protocol has been developed to govern all exams and supplementary courses for Tawjihi in cooperation and coordination with the Ministry of Education.

The procedures were classified according into three stages: pre-exam, examination, and post-examination. 

The first stage: pre-exam stage procedures

- The Ministry of Health, through the concerned directorates, delivers awareness messages to high school students through all available communication channels (television, text messages, social media sites), so that these messages include the following:

• Commitment of the student to stay at home and reduce mixing with others during the period leading up to the examination dates and until the completion of all exams.
• The necessity to download the ‘AMAN’ application for all students and supervisory staff from the Ministry of Education.
• Health guidelines related to the prevention of the coronavirus, including the proper use of face masks, social distancing, and other precautionary measures.
• Psychological support for Tawjihi students and an assurance that high temperature does not necessarily mean infection with the Coronavirus.
• Clarification of the health measures taken during the exams.

- In the event that any of the symptoms of COVID-19 infections appear and the student visits the hospital, the student must inform the doctor that they are students who will undergo examinations in order to follow the instructions of the Ministry of Health in this regard.

- Training of civil defense representatives in examination centers to apply protocol instructions and communicate with monitoring doctors when suspected of any condition.

- The Ministry of Education, in cooperation with the Ministry of Local Administration through the municipalities and the special services companies for the ministry, will disinfect the halls with their contents and the public facilities in the examination centers.

- Disinfection is carried out using materials approved by the Ministry of Health, including sodium hypochlorite (0.1 percent) in some centers. In the centers of the Greater Amman Municipality (GAM), disinfection is carried out by the services company of the Ministry of Education using hydrogen peroxide.

- Cleaning and disinfection is carried out twice: the first being prior to the students entering the examination rooms and the second after the students leave the examination room.

- Cleaning and disinfection teams are obligated to wear personal protective equipment.

- If students from isolated areas have come into contact with infected persons, they will be dealt with according to the results of their PCR tests. If the result is negative, then coordination is made with the administrative personnel to allow the student to access the examination center and take the exam in the separate examination room. However, If the PCR test is positive, then the Ministry of Health protocol is applied and the examinations will be taken in another session, according to the instructions of the Ministry of Education.

(Note: If any of the personnel live in one of the areas of isolation, then his or her assignment by the Ministry of Education will be canceled.)

- In the event that the examination center is located within the isolated areas, then it is transferred to another region and students residing in the same area will be dealt with according to the previous clause.

- A student who tests positive for COVID-19 will not be allowed to sit for high school examinations based on the national emergency plan to deal with the virus and the instructions of the Ministry of Education.

- Reduction of contact will be emphasized between everyone within examination centers. For example, when students present identification documents prior to completing the exam, the student must hold the document in a manner which will make it easy for the supervisor to read without touching the document. The supervisor must match the name and image without touching the documents. Supervisors must check documents upon student arrival and again once seated.

- If students were infected prior to the examinations, then it is necessary that they spend a period of 10 days in isolation if they are asymptomatic. If students have symptoms of infection, then they must spend a period of 13 days in isolation provided that the last three days are symptom- free. All PCR tests must be shown prior to taking the exam.
In the event that the students who come in close contact with confirmed cases of COVID-19, they must home-quarantine for a period of 10 days with negative PCR tests. If the tests are positive, then they will be treated as a COVID-19 patient and health protocols will be applied.

- In the event that the students have traveled and have a negative PCR test, they must home quarantine for a period of seven days. If the PCR test is positive, then they will be treated as a COVID-19 patient and health protocols will be applied.

- Students mentioned in the three previous clauses will sit the exams in the separate examination rooms.

Instructions for exam rooms:

• Pre-packed napkins and water will be provided for each student on their allocated seats.
• Safe heating devices will be provided in the examination rooms.
• Good ventilation will be ensured for the hall during the exam period.
• Seats will be distributed so that the distance between each seat is two meters from all directions, provided that the number of students in each hall does not exceed 10-12 students and according to the size of the hall.

Instructions for the separate examination room:

• The room must be well lit and naturally ventilated, ensuring good ventilation during the exam period.
• Distance of at least 2.5 meters between student seats from all directions must be maintained, with the need to adhere to wearing face masks.
• Adherence of public safety instructions for both students and supervisory staff
• Pre-packed napkins and water will be provided for each student on their allocated seats.

The second stage: Examination stage

Students entering the examination center:

- Students must maintain a distance of two meters between each other upon entering the examination center, with a commitment to stand on the specified signs in the yard to achieve social distancing. Supervisors and security personnel must ensure that students abide by these rules.

- Gatherings, including students’ families will be prohibited outside the school walls by public security personnel.
The administrative officials must distribute masks to students and ensure sure that they are placed in the correct manner.

- All those present in the examination center (whether they are students, supervisors, observers or security personnel) are required to wear masks.

- Civil defense personnel, in cooperation with the supervisory staff from the Ministry of Education, must take student and staff temperatures according to the following mechanism:

• Taking the initial reading of the temperature
• If the temperature is normal (less than 37.5), the student or staff is allowed to enter the examination room according to the controls specified by the Ministry of Education.
• If the temperature is high (37.5 degrees Celsius or above), it must be re-measured after 15 minutes, during which the student is permitted to take a break in a ‘cool’ place to ensure the accuracy of the second reading.
• If the second reading is still high (37.5 degrees Celsius or above), the student is admitted to the separate examination room, which is a room designated for students who suffer from high temperature, or have ended the period of isolation or home quarantine. Civil defense personnel must ensure that entry of the students into those rooms is organized and adheres to precautionary measures.

- Student admittance into the halls in general must be organized and in accordance to the rules of public safety, social distancing and the prevention of overcrowding, which will be observed by supervisors from the Ministry of Education.

- Movement of staff and Civil Defense personnel will be limited (unless necessary) between examination rooms and corridors in order to reduce the risk of infection transmission.

- The Ministry of Education is obligated to hand over stationery to each student, and the stationary must be properly disposed of upon completion of the exams.

Instructions for examination rooms:

• Students and staff must commit to public safety instructions such as wearing face masks.
• Each student must dispose of waste such as tissue paper or stationery in a special waste bin located inside the hall at the end of the exam.
• Examination observers must communicate with the representative of the Civil Defense in the event of any health or psychological symptoms appearing among the students in order to deal with them in accordance with the protocols of the Ministry of Health.

Separate examination room instructions:

• Students and staff must commit to public safety instructions such as wearing face masks.
• Each student must dispose of waste such as tissue paper or stationery in a special waste bin located inside the hall at the end of the exam.

Exam paper treatment:

• The individual responsible for collecting examination papers must adhere to wearing a mask, wearing gloves (which must be disposed of properly).
• Exam papers must be placed in special envelopes.
• Hands must be sanitized efficiently (rubbing with alcohol or with soap and water).

The third stage: post examination completion stage

Students leaving the exam halls:

• The process of exiting the examination halls must be carried out in an orderly manner, taking into account the rules of public safety, social distancing and the prevention of overcrowding.
• The exit process of students should take place in batches, taking into account social distancing.
• Students exiting from the separate examination room should leave the premises before students start leaving other halls.
• Students in halls closest to the main door should exit first, with the assistance of supervisors and personnel.
• If students feels any symptoms such as high temperature while they are at home, then they must go to the nearest government hospital, and if the situation calls for taking a PCR test, the student must inform the medical staff that they will be sitting exams in order for the medical personnel to deal with the sample according to the health protocol for high school students.
• The student is allowed to sit the exam in the separate examination room until the results of his examination appear.
• If the result is positive, it will be dealt with according to the protocol of the Ministry of Health by isolating the patient.
• During the paper correction sessions, the personnel correcting must adhere to social distancing and wearing masks. Correctors must be careful and cautious when dealing with papers and wash hands with soap and water. These halls are sterilized after each correction session and it is preferable to start the correction process after the exam for a period not less than four hours, according to the scientific studies on the coronavirus.