Rome, 11 July (LaPresse) – High school graduation exams ‘are a constitutional requirement and are very important for our collective life. I believe that all tests should be compulsory and that a minimum mark should be set for each test in order to pass the exam’. This is according to Antonello Giannelli, national president of the national headteachers' association, following cases of students who refused to take the oral exam because it was permitted by the “current rules”. Regarding the requirement of a minimum overall grade of 60 across all exam tests, Giannelli said: ‘If a minimum threshold were introduced, even if not particularly high, for each test and in particular for the interview, I believe that this type of difficulty would no longer arise and we would restore the seriousness of the exam. Taking all the exam tests is a sign of respect for the other candidates, for the school as an institution and for our Constitution.’