CAIRO — High school exam seasons in Egypt are often accompanied by exam leaks — a phenomenon that has become a major challenge to the successive Egyptian governments, despite several attempts to confront it. The government transports exam questions in a military helicopter from the printers affiliated with the Ministry of Education, whose locations remain a secret. This procedure is done under the auspices of the Egyptian armed forces to prevent the leaking of the exams. Also, the Ministry of Education has started using electronic detectors to search the students for mobile phones to prevent the exam questions from being leaked on social media just minutes after the exam starts. The Ministry of Interior is working to secure students’ conduct during examinations, amid a phenomenon of mass cheating.
In the past, students have threatened to beat proctors, assault them, and, in 2014, exam proctors were held at gunpoint in the city of Asyut. Amid all of this, some people on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter continue to defy the Egyptian Ministry of Education.
