Both the biology and geography thanaweyya amma exams were leaked Saturday morning through a Facebook page almost 20 minutes after the exams started.
Photocopies of the exam papers were posted online with the Ministry of Education’s seal on them.
The answers to the exams were also made available throughout the online page, and a number of students who followed the page were able to engage and ask questions for clarification regarding specific answers.
Officials from the Ministry of Education announced that the Electronic Cheating Committee assigned to the concerned leaks is following the source of the papers to identify those responsible for the leak.
Exam leaks began again this week, with the beginning of the second round of thanaweyya amma examinations. According to a previous statement issued by the Education Ministry following the leak of the second-round Arabic language exam, exams have been leaked from exam locations inside schools. It is believed that a number of students present for the exams took pictures of the exam papers and published them on social media outlets.
Ever since the first round of exams in early June, every exam has been leaked on social media either prior to or during the examination administration.
The Ministry of Education denied some of the leaks and postponed four subjects from their original time to early July. It assigned an Electronic Cheating Committee to follow case by case in order to identify those responsible for the exam leaks.
On the other hand, a large number of students across different regions protested in fury to this farce and called for the dismissal of the minister of education to bring about change in the ministry and the entire education system.
Facebook pages such as ChaoMing and Bel ghesh etgamana (through cheating we are united) were formed to modify students’ exam results. They had threatened the Ministry of Education to continue leaking thanaweyya amma exams throughout the second round of testing.
More than 20 people have been arrested on charges of leaking exam papers on the internet since early June. The arrests came as part of a crackdown on exam fraud.
The struggle to end exam leaks continues to put pressure on both students, who suffer the consequences of leaks, and the Ministry of Education which faces continuous blame. Further, it raises questions about the system of education in Egypt which has been spotlighted heavily this year.
