Kurdistan adopts innovative exam system for fairness and efficiency

ERBIL – Kurdistan Regional Government Minister of Education Alan Hama Saeed announced last Friday the adoption of an innovative method for conducting senior high school baccalaureate exams, which ministry officials call unique in the Middle East.

“We are proud that our system has achieved fairness,” said Hama Saeed.

Previously, grading the baccalaureate exams required about 100 teachers and took a full month. Now, with the new system, it can be accomplished in 40 minutes, with students receiving their grades within 24 hours. If students doubt any grade, they can enter their personal code and view all the papers containing their answers.

Herdi Maroof Saeed, the director of examinations at the Ministry of Education and a member of the high committee for exams, designed and developed the system himself. He said students are given two papers: one with 50 questions and another for answers. The questions are divided into 26 groups to prevent cheating and ensure each student has a unique version.

After selecting answers on the answer sheet, the responses are fed into a machine that scans the papers and inputs the student’s details into an electronic server. This system replaces the old method, which involved multiple committees of expert teachers taking a month to review and grade.

Maroof Saeed noted, “After all exams are completed, we give the answers to the server, which assigns the correct grades to all students within 40 minutes.” Although ready last Thursday, the results were announced on Friday.

The new system also allows students to view their answer sheets online and verify their grades. If dissatisfied, they can file a complaint. Maroof Saeed emphasized the system’s security, noting, “Each paper carries a secret code, and if any part of the questions is leaked, we will know within minutes to which student it belongs and from which school and province.”

This year, there were only 51 cases of cheating among over 122,000 exam takers. The system has attracted attention from Baghdad, where federal committees have visited Kurdistan to learn about it. Maroof Saeed expressed willingness to help Baghdad implement the system as well.