Egypt’s 419, 829 high school students on Tuesday took the national education and high level exams as the high school exams period came to an end.
The high level exams include Arabic, English, philosophy, and geography for students in the literary division and Arabic, English, biology, and mathematics for students in the scientific division. The high level exam is optional and its grades are added to total exam results of the two high school phases.
The exams, called thanaweya amma, took place amid tight security to prevent cheating, but some instances of using smartphones to cheat were reported, and some exam answers were published on Twitter.
Students complained about the difficulty of the exams during both phases, which led to student protests.
High school exam results determine what college an Egyptian student will go to and even what subject they will study. Parents whose children go to state schools often hire tutors to prepare for the exams.
