Saudi Gazette report STUDENTS in general describe the last week in school before the term examinations as the dead week, which is full of chaotic behavior because the children get ample spare time to get involved in wrongful and dangerous activities. Education supervisors, school heads and teachers emphasize that it is imperative for students to attend the last week of school before the term examinations. They say double attendance deduction will be applied on students who become absent during the week. Do schools offer students any curriculum and enrichment programs during this period to justify such action? Do the school administrators fulfill their duties and responsibilities in final week as they should, so that the students can benefit from attending classes? These were some of the questions Al-Riyadh newspaper put to education experts and students. Student Adel Zafer Al-Aliani said, We take the week before the tests as time for rest and recollection. We think that if we do not to attend school during this period, our grades won't be affected. He said many problems such violence and car drifting increase during this period due to the spare time students have. Student Renad Abdullah Al-Osaimi said the week before the exams would become important only if materials for serious study were offered. Most of the students do not take their studies seriously throughout the school year, so this week is very important in terms of reviewing the materials and organizing the test schedule. It provides a good opportunity for us to ask the teachers about portions we find difficult to understand, she added. Mariam Abdullah Jarad thought it was important to attend school in the week before the tests because it gave the students a chance to work with their teachers to revise difficult portions and clear doubts. She however stressed that the school staff and teachers in turn should be available to clear doubts and review the lessons with the students. Naif Al-Yami, a development specialist, said children look forward to the last days before the end of the semester and they tend to break the normal school routine in this period. He suggested that around this time of the year schools include in their curriculum physical and mental development activities such as preparing school playgrounds, gymnasiums, theaters and laboratories, in addition to activating social, educational and professional programs. Schools can partner with private and public sector institutions to offer educational and vocational programs. Teachers must grant students bonus grades to supplement their GPA every time they participate in such events, Al-Yami said. Naji'i Sumaili, a counselor at the Ministry of Education, said asking students to use the time to review their lessons could be helpful. The Ministry of Education is keen to raise awareness in the school community and in families about the importance of discipline. This is reaffirmed in the last weeks of every semester because this is the time lots of bad behavior among children come to the fore. During this period children tend to pick bad company and get involved in violent and unacceptable behavior due to peer pressure, Sumaili said, while calling on parents to cooperate with the school management to protect their children. Director of Guidance at the Department of Education in Makkah Dr. Azza Abes Al-Shihri said the phenomenon of students missing school before the holidays and term examinations reflect behavioral problems among them. He said the reason for such behavior is the failure to inculcate in them the ideals and values of proper behavior both at school and in family. The compatibility of students' behavior with what is required of them by the school system depends on what they gain both at school and family, which ought to encourage discipline among children, he said.