Ministry debars 799 from GSSC exams - Khaleej Times

Since they were external students, the ministry had formed committees, appointed invigilators and spent money on printing question papers, the sources said, adding that the students, however, failed to show up for the examinations. The ministry took a serious view of their conduct since it had spared no efforts to conduct the examinations, besides spending money.

In the past, the general practice was that the external students would, after registering for the examinations, take two weeks leave from work to appear for the exam. The ministry charged Dh500 as exam fees, but even then, some students failed to appear for the exam, arguing that the amount was nothing compared to 15 days pay. To curb such an attitude, the ministry decided to debar any boy or girl from taking the exam for five consecutive years if they failed to take the exam in the first attempt, the sources said.

I'm not sure what an "external candidate" is. Perhaps they completed school but did not pass the General Secondary School Certificate Examination on an earlier exam, or, perhaps they are dropouts. I take it that these are nationals, but I'm not sure of that either. Here's an earlier story about the GSSC.

Other questions: where are they working, and why is it that passing the exam doesn't seem to affect their pay and continuation?