It’s all over. Last week Tawjihi students breathed a collective sigh of relief. No more worries about their results. Tears of happiness were shed and shouts of excitement heard all over Jordan. Hasan Mustafa who got 87.4 percent in the scientific stream was excited but he didn’t hide the fact that he expected a higher grade. “My grade is good. It will get me a place in university but I thought I should have got a higher grade,” he said. “I studied a lot, and now it’s time to pick the fruit of my efforts,” he added. His mother was more enthusiastic than he was. “My son did his best. He didn’t want us to have a celebration for him but we insisted and had a party,” she said. Another student, Nisreen Mohammed, in the scientific stream got 96 percent. “Of course I’m very happy and content. I was determined to get a high grade and this is what I did,” she said. “The rule is, you study you get, you don’t study you regret,” she added. “There were many sleepless nights and tiring days. I want to study Medicine and now I’m sure I can. If it weren’t for my mom’s support I wouldn’t have been able to achieve such a mark. I thank God and thank her for my success,” she added with a big smile. Nisreen’s mother offered us sweets while she talked about her daughter’s success. “I’ve always believed she can do it. I expected her grade to be higher. I’m very proud of her,” she said.

Tasneem Zaher got 75.8 percent in the literary stream. “I knew I’d get such a grade because I didn’t study hard but I am satisfied,” she said. “I want to study Child Education and I hope my grade will allow me to do that at university,” she told The Star. “I know I could well study in a far away university; that’s fine with me as long as I study what I like,” she added. “Her father was very glad Tasneem passed. “Frankly, I didn’t expect my daughter to pass because she didn’t study hard enough. I’m very grateful she did,” he explained. “We made her a party and now we are waiting for the university applications and hopefully she’ll get a seat. If not, we’ll register her in the parallel program. It is expensive but she’s my daughter and has to study to guarantee a good future,” he added.

Nadeem Bader, who failed in the literary stream, was optimistic about the future nevertheless. “I failed but I must confess I didn’t study as hard as I should have. I’m not happy I failed but I know I will make it next year,” he said. “Failure is not the end of the world. I will put more effort into it and hopefully I will succeed, but I wish my parents didn’t give me rough time about it,” he sighed. Alaa Asad who also failed in the scientific stream wasn’t less optimistic. “I didn’t expect to fail because I did my best but it’s God’s will,” he said. “I failed only in one subject and I’ll be well prepared next time round. I thank God for the great parents I have. If it wasn’t for their support, I wouldn’t have the strength to handle my failure. My dad in particular was very supportive. He called me from the United States where he works and insisted I go on a vacation with my brothers to Aqaba to relax so that I get prepared psychologically for the exams and I’m not going to let him down.”