The results of the Arabic-language thanaweyya amma secondary school exam were revised and compared to previous years in order to pinpoint flaws in the education system, according to a cabinet order declared Wednesday following exam leaks earlier this week.
At a press conference held at the cabinet’s headquarters, Education Minister Al-Helaly Al-Sherbiny announced that the cabinet has decided to modify the way exam questions and answers are circulated as well as to study long and short-term plans to prevent further leaks from emerging.
Meanwhile, anger over the leaked exams from earlier this week continues to simmer, with reactions from various political parties and officials calling for the immediate resignation of Al-Sherbiny.
Pro-government party Mostaqbal Watan (Future of a Nation) released a statement Tuesday night, calling primarily for the resignation of Al-Sherbiny as well as the sacking of all ministerial officials responsible for ensuring the confidentiality of exams until the test date.
They further called for a re-take of all the exams that were leaked and for the Ministry of Interior to continue tracking the individuals responsible for leaking the exams.
The Al-Geel Al-Demokrati (Democratic Generation) party also released a similar statement saying that the resignation of Al-Sherbiny is vital to reinstate the notion of accountability.
Journalist and MP Mostafa Bakri has gone further and called for the legalisation of military trials for those responsible for the leaks.
Bakri told Al-Youm Al-Sabaa that he believes the government should immediately shut down all Facebook pages that aid and abet cheating until of the examination period is complete.
Still, the Facebook page ChaoMing has vowed to continue to persevere and bring down what it describes as the “failed educational establishment”.
A number of duplicate pages have surfaced since the start of the leaks, but ChaoMing denounced them in a Facebook post on Tuesday night and claimed to be the original source.
After a surprise visit to the Ministry of Education Tuesday morning, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail promised to take tough legal action against those responsible for the leaks.
