The Egyptian Ministry of Education’s online fraud team on Sunday identified the student responsible for copying questions from the Thanaweya Amma physics exam and uploading them on social media.
The team is also checking the identity of another student accused of uploading the chemistry exam’s questions on social media, one hour into the exam.
The ministry’s operation chamber is verifying the copies, and aims to take legal action against the student based on Egypt’s prevention of fraud act.
The Egyptian parliament’s Constitutional and Legislative Affairs Committee on June 28 approved a draft law submitted by the government on combating exam violations.
The law increase the penalties for printing, publishing, broadcasting, and promoting, by any means, exam questions and their answers, or any evaluation systems in different education stages, Egyptian and foreign, with the intention of cheating or disturbing the general examination system.
It sets a penalty of imprisonment not less than two years, and seven years at maximum, as well as a fine of no less than LE100,000 and at maximum LE200,000.
Any attempts to perform these acts will be met with a one-year imprisonment and/or a fine of no less than LE10,000 and LE50,000 at maximum.
A student caught cheating or attempting to cheat will be failed for the year and deprived from attending exams for the rest of the year.
The draft law also includes imposing a penalty on any student caught using a communication device during exams with a fine no less than LE5,000 and no more than LE10,000, with the court ordering the confiscation of these devices.
Around 653,389 students started the high school final exams (Thanaweya Amma) on June 21 across Egypt. The exams will continue until July 21.
Thanaweya Amma refers to tests in the final years of high school, which students attend between the ages of 17 and 18, a crucial educational stage in Egypt. A student’s score in the examinations can determine whether they are admitted to a free public university and what course they are able to study.
Facebook pages have been publishing leaked examination papers and model answers for almost five years, and so far the Facebook page admins have evaded capture, despite the efforts of Education Ministry officials and the police.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
