The head of the Education Ministry’s department for high school examinations, Reda Hegazi, said on Tuesday that the economy and statistics exam that was circulated on social media pages early Tuesday is “fake” and “wrong.”
In the early hours of Tuesday, thanaweya amma (secondary school) students sat their second exam of the season, in economy and statistics.
Local media reported that there were attempts by students to leak the exam through photographing and publishing it on social media platforms.
Thanaweya amma exams started on 3 June with examinations in the Arabic language and religious studies. They are scheduled to end on 1 July. Over 500,000 students across Egypt’s governorates are sitting the exams.
On Sunday, online pages known for leaking secondary school exams published photos of the Arabic exam, claiming that it is the one students are supposed to be tested on, but Hegazi denied its validity, calling it fake and saying it is last year’s paper.
A student in the governorate of Daqahleya photographed the exam from the examination hall and leaked it online. The ministry was able to identify him.
This year’s exams are stored in one of the sovereign authorities and transferred under tight security to examinations halls.
The exam seasons of the past two years saw the leaking of exam papers by online pages, which resulted in the arrest of several Ministry of Education officials. Thanaweya amma is Egypt’s secondary school certificate, required for applying to universities and higher education institutions.
