12th-grade final exams begin in Kurdistan Region

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Thousands of 12th-grade students on early Saturday across the Kurdistan Region began taking the first bachelorette exam of the year, marking the end of secondary education before admission to colleges and universities.

More than 117,000 students are set to take the exams, Minister of Education Alan Hama Saeed told Kurdistan 24 on Saturday morning after visiting a test hall in Duhok.

The scores of the final senior exams determine a student's eligibility for university and college studies, widely described by parents and educators as “decisive.”

The test results are expected to be announced in late June following the Islamic feast of Eid Al-Adha, estimated to begin on June 28, according to the minister.

The Ministry has taken strict measures to control leaking exam questions and cheating, including enforcing internet outage for three hours and a half in the morning, 6:00-80:30 (local time), Hama Saeed added.

“Students are not allowed to bring their own calculators to the exam halls,” he said, adding the government provides the counting devices.

People have been “arrested and sentenced” for selling exam questions, the official said.

Final exams in the Iraqi federal provinces are set to begin on June 9.

Despite the Iraqi Ministry of Transport and Communications’ refusal to impose internet blackout during examinations, the ban will be enforced.