US embassy cable - 04AMMAN5131

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 005131 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/23/2014 
TAGS: PGOV, PREL, ASEC, JO 
SUBJECT: JORDAN'S EDUCATION MINISTRY EMBROILED IN CHEATING 
SCANDAL 
 
 
Classified By: DCM David Hale for reasons 1.5 (b)(d) 
 
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SUMMARY 
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1.  (C)  The Education Ministry is under fire after the GOJ 
announced on June 21 the suspension of Jordan's annual high 
school exams (tawjihi) to investigate allegations that 
students obtained copies of at least one of the exams in 
advance.  The head of the GID's Anti-Corruption Unit says 
that at least 10 ministry and private school officials have 
been arrested so far, and some are accused of selling each 
exam paper to students for 1,250-1,500 JD.  Underscoring the 
seriousness of the charges, the accused will be tried in 
Jordan's state security court on charges of leaking state 
documents.  Members of Parliament are calling for the 
Education Minister's resignation.  Concerned that questions 
on other exams may have been leaked as well, the GOJ decided 
to invalidate and re-administer the three exams that have 
already been given (Arabic, English and chemistry) beginning 
on June 27 using rewritten questions (to the glee of some 
students appreciative of the extra study time).  Cheating 
allegations are a mainstay of the stressful tawjihi exam 
season, but never on such a large scale.  That said, our 
contacts are not surprised it has gotten to this point, 
saying that the competitive nature of the tawjihi testing 
system -- and the pressure it places on students and their 
families -- is finally reaping what it has sown over the 
years and highlighted the need for sweeping education reform. 
 End Summary. 
 
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ANTI-CORRUPTION UNIT INVESTIGATING CHEATING SCANDAL 
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2.  (C)  Complaints by students and parents of wide-spread 
cheating on the country-wide secondary school exams (tawjihi) 
came to a head on June 22 when an investigation launched by 
the General Intelligence Department's (GID) Anti-Corruption 
Unit revealed that officials in the Fourth Education 
Directorate of Amman sold accurate copies of the English exam 
to students for 1,200-1,500 JD each.  Our teacher and student 
contacts report that the stolen questions reached students in 
Salt and Madaba, and that copies were being sold at traffic 
lights (spots usually reserved for newspaper and fruit 
vendors).  One teacher said his students brought him the 
questions prior to the exam and asked him to coach them on 
the answers.  He dismissed their claim that they had the real 
questions -- which are kept under lock and key in the 
Ministry.  The teacher thought the questions were the usual 
mock samples or extracted from past exams, but they turned 
out to be actual exam questions.  Our interlocutors say that 
students in many schools boasted to their friends about 
getting the questions in advance.  Outraged, the less 
fortunate students complained to school principals, their 
parents, and Members of Parliament (MPs). 
 
3.  (U)  As a result, at least 24 Education Ministry and 
private school officials have been interrogated, and 10 have 
been arrested so far, the head of the GID Anti-Corruption 
Unit told a joint press conference with Education Minister 
Khalid Touqan on June 22.  Underscoring the seriousness of 
the situation, he added that the cases will be referred to 
the State Security Court (a military tribunal usually 
reserved for suspected terrorists, drug dealers, and spies) 
on charges of leaking official state documents. 
 
4.  (U)  In an attempt to rectify the situation, the 
Education Ministry announced on June 21 that it would 
invalidate the results of three exams already administered 
(English, Arabic, and chemistry) and rescheduled the tests to 
begin on June 27.  The decision affects more than 100,000 
students, some of whom were elated to have extra study time. 
However, parents expressed chagrin to reporters about adding 
an extra week of stress to their family life as students 
prepare for the high-pressure exams a second time. 
 
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TOUQAN UNDER FIRE FOR "TAWHIJI-GATE" 
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5.  (C)  Touqan -- a leading force for reform in the 
government -- is under pressure over his handling of the 
scandal.  Several MPs have called for his resignation. 
Backtracking on initial denials from Education Ministry 
officials in response to teacher, student, and parents' 
complaints about the leaked exams, Touqan during the press 
conference took complete responsibility for the scandal 
(which one local paper has coined "tawjihi-gate").  However, 
he said he would remain in office.  Gadfly MPs who sit on the 
Education, Culture and Youth Committee in Parliament, 
including Abdul Rahim Malhas and Suleiman Abu Ghaith, are not 
appeased, saying that the "scandal was damaging to the 
reputation of the educational system in Jordan."  Irbid MP 
Nariman Roussan stopped short of calling for Touqan's 
resignation during a meeting with PolOffs, but added that he 
must be held accountable for the scandal.  According to our 
contacts only three Ministry officials (ironically not 
including the Minister) have the key to the safe where the 
exams are kept. 
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SOME FAULT COMPETITIVE SYSTEM FOR SCANDAL 
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6.  (C)  Contacts say they are not surprised by the depth of 
the scandal, saying that the system's outdated, high-pressure 
structure (and relatively low pay for teachers and government 
employees) breeds such dishonesty.  The month-long tawjihi 
exam period (which began June 15) is a time of extreme stress 
for students and their families.  The series of exams -- 
which tests a student's cumulative knowledge over 12 years in 
multiple subjects -- determines whether a student is eligible 
to enter university.  The exams are preceded by an intense 
study period, and results are publicized in the newspaper.  A 
student who does poorly on the tawjihi brings shame to his 
family, adding to the pressure of the long and complicated 
exams.  One woman activist told PolOff that societal and 
family pressures, coupled with economic hardships many 
families face, push some students (and parents) to do 
whatever they can to ensure they do well on the exam and 
avoid embarrassing themselves in front of their peers and 
family members. 
 
7.  (C)  Dr. Mohammad Tarawneh, a University of Jordan 
professor and vice president of academic affairs at the Arab 
Academy for Banking and Financial Services, told PolOff that 
he and his colleagues agree that Touqan did the right thing 
by rescheduling the exams, but the scandal underscores the 
need for sweeping education reform in Jordan.  Dr. Tarawneh 
says he does not blame Touqan for the mess and believes him 
to be an ethical person, he also thinks he is "too nice" and 
perhaps not the right person to enforce badly needed (and 
politically sensitive) reform. 
 
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COMMENT 
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8.  (C)  Touqan is under attack for the scandal on two 
counts: the scope of the leaked exam questions and his 
purported denial of the problem when complaints from students 
and parents started filtering in.  We suspect he was 
initially misinformed by Education Ministry officials worried 
about their own culpability, but Touqan's apology and the 
decision to reschedule the exams will do little to sway his 
detractors.  However, his actions, coupled with the GID 
investigation, seem part of a good-faith effort to show that 
the GOJ is willing to address this specific case, as well as 
the more general problem of corruption -- a long-standing 
gripe among Jordanians.  One potential silver lining: the 
scandal has encouraged a rare spate of active investigative 
journalism, with some crediting the media for breaking the 
story.  It also may prompt a review of the high-pressure 
tawjihi system, which many argue is long overdue for an 
overhaul. 
 
Visit Embassy Amman's classified web site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/amman or access the site 
through the State Department's SIPRNET home page. 
GNEHM