Throughout the week, news has spread concerning leaks in several subjects in the 2024 Thanawiya Amma (12th grade high school) exams, including geography, economics, statistics, and chemistry.

The news has puzzled parents and students amidst strong denials from the Ministry of Education. It repeatedly stated that the news about the leaks is void of the truth and that questions being circulated whether by parents, teachers, or on social media have no basis.

Thanawiya Amma exams are a series of standardised tests that lead to the General Secondary Education Certificate for secondary schools and serve as the entrance examination for universities.

Videos have gone viral on social media showing parents dictating their children answers in the chemistry exam. Ministry of Education Spokesman Shadi Zalata said there were cases of students caught red-handed while cheating. In response, Zalata said, the ministry took all legal measures regarding the incidents.

Steps have already been taken against students in Kafr Al-Dawar, Beheira, Beni Sweif, and Kafr Al-Sheikh governorates found with mobile phones while taking exams. “Students are prohibited from taking mobile phones to exams and anyone found carrying a phone, even if turned off, has been penalised,” Zalata said.

Measures are being taken and inspections are currently underway of all students and exam invigilators before they enter exam halls, he said, adding that the number of surveillance cameras in the halls has increased.

Hoda Essam, a Thanawiya Amma student, noted that the inspection measures are very strict. “I wonder how did students manage to take their cell phones into the exam hall,” Essam asked. Exams, according to Essam, are very difficult and students need extra time and need to focus on the questions instead of trying to upload the exam on social media.

Law 205/2020 imposed a set of penalties to combat cheating in exams and eliminate its facilitation. According to Article 1 of the law, “whoever prints, publishes, broadcasts, promotes by any means, exam questions, their answers or any assessment systems in various Egyptian and foreign educational stages, with the intention of cheating or disrupting the general exam system, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term not less than two years and not exceeding seven years, and a fine of not less than LE100,000 and not more than LE200,000.”

Students involved in cheating will be prohibited from taking the exam for two years.

At the same time, Zalata confirmed that a specialised technical committee had examined all the exams leaked on social media, concluding that the questions did not match the actual exam questions. “There were no links to these videos on the Internet, except for one link to a video that included revision sessions for all chapters. These sessions included many questions based on learning outcomes which sometimes leads to similarities in some ideas in exam questions but not an exact match,” Zalata said.

He also noted that the committee had found clear differences between the questions promoted in videos on social media and the questions that appeared in the exam. “There were similarities in some ideas and expectations but not an exact match of the questions.”

In response to questions concerning teachers and others selling exam questions, Zalata pointed out that the procedure for setting up the questions starts by choosing them from a questions bank. They are then printed under several strict measures. “Exam papers are fully monitored, from the print shop to delivery to exam centres,” he said.

He urged social media users to be “accurate” and not be misled by campaigns “aimed at discrediting the education and examination system”. He also confirmed that the ministry will take all legal measures against individuals responsible for disseminating misleading videos on social media.

This year’s incidents have parents worried as they brought back stark memories of a major Thanawiya Amma exam leak in 2016. Questions then would be posted minutes after exams began, followed by model answers a short time later. Students were forced to re-sit some of the nullified exams.

This year, more than 745,000 students are sitting for their Thanawiya Amma exams which kicked off on 22 June and are scheduled to end on 20 July. Students are taking their exams in 1,981 examination halls across the country. Around 85 per cent of the exams consist of multiple choice questions while 15 per cent are allocated for essay questions.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 11 July, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly