Catholic school network supports Ramadan provisions during exams

The Catholic education network is supporting schools with lots of Muslim pupils in the event they want to adjust their summer exam schedules to take Ramadan into account. The Islamic month of fasting takes place in June this year, which will make the exam period at the end of the school year harder for Muslim pupils.

During Ramadan, Muslims are not allowed to eat between sunrise and sunset. “That means Muslim students will have to get up very early to eat in the morning and stay up until late for the evening meal,” Willy Bombeek, spokesperson for the Catholic education network, told Het Nieuwsblad. “This month is always challenging and will be extra difficult this year, since it will take place during final exams.”

Schools can adjust by planning the most difficult exams on Monday and as far as possible letting pupils take exams in the morning.

The head of the network, Lieven Boeve, said the decision was to be made by individual schools. “Just like a school can plan a day off on the Monday after a fair in the village, a school with many Muslim pupils can take Ramadan into account when planning the exams,” he said. The network will play a supportive role, through its staff responsible for diversity.

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