Blog · 17 September 2026

Can you switch between Thanaweya Amma and the Bachaloria?

No. The Education Law forbids moving into or out of the Bachaloria during your years of study, so choosing a system in the first year is a three-year decision. What that means for you.

The short answer

No. Law No. 169 of 2025 states that the Bachaloria may not be transferred into or out of from other secondary systems during the years of study.

So if you join the Bachaloria in the first year, you stay in it until the third. If you join Thanaweya Amma, you stay in that.

So what is allowed?

  • Changing track within the Bachaloria: allowed after the second year, provided you study the new specialised subject. Details.
  • Choosing your specialised subject in the second year: a choice between two subjects on your track, and it is yours.

Why this matters in the last year of prep school

Because the decision is made once, before the first year of secondary. Think carefully about how the two systems differ:

  • The Bachaloria: six subjects in the total over two years, two exam sittings a year, and the best mark counts.
  • Thanaweya Amma: more subjects, and one exam sitting.

Read the difference between the Bachaloria and Thanaweya Amma and Bachaloria or Thanaweya Amma: which to choose?

And university admission?

The ministry has confirmed that university admission rules are the same for both systems. The system you choose does not shut you out of coordination, but your Bachaloria track decides which faculties you apply to. University admission with the Bachaloria.

Sources

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