On Twitter and Instagram this weekend, Jordanian students expressed their anger with decisions to bring back British curriculum examinations on short notice. 

Students are now expected to take the exams in less than two months. 

The decision, made by the Ministry of Education in participation with British examination bodies Edexcel and the British Council, triggered an outpouring of support by students and adults alike, causing the hashtag #CancelUnseenExamsInJo go viral in protest.

In 2020, after the pandemic tightened its grip on the world, all British examination authorities decided to cancel exams and rely on subject teachers to evaluate a student's performance.

In turn, the Jordanian Ministry of Education approved this decision for students in their final year of schooling, as they were required to begin their application process in order to be admitted into universities.

In 2021, the two British examination bodies which provide International General Certificates of Secondary Education (IGCSEs), Edexcel and Oxford, canceled examinations for summer of 2021 as well, and approved the evaluation of subject teachers. The Ministry of Education followed suit and approved the evaluation by teachers using predicted grades only for those in their final year of schooling.

On March 11, students were suprised to learn that the ministry, in cooperation with Edexcel and the British Council, arranged for the examinations to return this summer, leaving less than two months for students to study for examinations which cover around six to nine subjects.

"This is something that is highly unfair and will ruin our future of many students, particularly students in grade 12," said a student who identified herself as Julie on Tiktok.

In her video, Julie went on to say that she hopes that this message reaches the Ministry of Education, as did many students on Twitter.

"All students who study IG in Jordan want their voices to be heard, this is our right," said Julie.

A Twitter user, Maya Muqattash said, "Jordan is the only country in the Middle East that is doing the exams and it has one of the highest Corona rates in the world. Please make it make sense #cancelunseenexamsinjo."

Another Twitter user, Dina Abu Karaki, displayed her concerns about testing positive for the coronavirus in the midst of the examinations that she was blindsided by. "I want to graduate without testing Positive for COVID-19 in the middle of my exams !!! #cancelunseenexamsinjo."

The COVID-19 pandemic has been negatively impacting children’s education around the world.

On March 15, 2020, the Jordanian government closed all schools, kindergartens and universities to in-person learning, impacting 2.37 million students, according to UNICEF.

Educational institutions were shut once more on Sep. 16, 2020, following announcements by the former Minister of Education Tayseer Al-Nuaimi, adding that the closures will be until further notice.

Remote education came with many challenges. On March 10, 2021, the Minister of Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research Muhammad Abu Qdais said distance education is a 'temporary necessity' and is not a substitute for in-person learning.

According to Twitter user Raad Ellayan, predicted grades would help ease the hardships that students would have to work through in order to get into university, especially in light of the pandemic.

"As a 2021 senior, I believe it's only fair to cancel the examinations as done for the graduating class before us and instead rely on our predicted grades."