An announcement by Minister of Education and Technical Education Mohamed Abdel-Latif regarding the implementation of the booklet system for grade nine student exams across the country’s governorates has sparked questions about its potential to address the widespread issue of cheating which has posed a significant challenge to the country’s education system in recent years. Abdel-Latif emphasised that the new system aims to ensure fairness among all students.
During a meeting on 3 April with directors and deputies of educational directorates from various governorates to generalise the booklet system for grade nine final exams that start from 31 May to 4 June,Abdel-Latif highlighted the importance of the system in reducing cheating, promoting fairness among students and improving the quality of grading.
Grade nine is alsoknown as the preparatory certificate, considered an important stage in the education system as it allows students with high grades to be promoted to the secondary stage and then university. Students with low grades join technical education.
Ministry spokesman ShadiZalatasaid the minister instructed the swift preparation and printing of the booklets to be applied in all governorates. Zalata also affirmed that the ministry is committed to providing technical support to all educational directorates.
The booklet, explained Zalata, is an examination system that merges the question paper with the answer booklet—without changing the format of the questions themselves—in an effort to limit cheating, whether inside or out of exam halls. It incorporates a barcode to secure the documents against unauthorised copying.
The booklet system for the 2025 grade nine exams relies on using four different versions of the same exam: models A, B, C and D which will be distributed to students sitting for the exams in the same exam station. “Each booklet will hold a secret code to identify its owner and detect any attempt to leak or circulate the exam,” Zalata said, adding that the ministry had uploaded official sample models for the booklet on authorised platforms so that students could practice the new exam model.
In recent years, preparatory and secondary certificate exams in Egypt saw widespread leaks via electronic means, most notably through virtual cheating groups on apps such as Telegram and WhatsAppin which exam questions were shared. This led the government to issue strict warnings, with penalties including a two-year ban on taking exams.
In 2023 a Facebook page called Chao Ming leaked the social studies exams of grade nine, leading to the exam being canceled and rescheduled. Another incident involved an English exam leaked 20 minutes after the students sat for the final term exams.
The booklet system has been in use in high school exams since 2018. It also piloted this academic year during the first term exams for grade nine students inDaqahliya, Port Said, Beheira, Aswan, and the New Valley governorates before the decision was made to implement it nationwide.
Dalia Al-Hazzawi, an educational and social expert and founder of the Egyptian Parents Coalition, said the booklet is “part of a series of measures the ministry is pursuing to combat cheating, which has reached a level that necessitates serious and comprehensive intervention,” though she also emphasised that “completely eliminating cheating remains unlikely”.
Speaking to Al-Ahram Weekly, Al-Hazzawi added that “implementing the booklet in exams is one solution to the phenomenon, as it makes cheating more difficult compared to the traditional systemin which students received separate question and answer sheets, making cheating easier.” She added that the booklet format allows better exam security due to the inclusion of a barcode.
However, observers note that some parents expressed concerns over the new system, particularly doubting the ability of the booklets to effectively curb cheating in preparatory exams. They argue that the Ministry of Education is merely “experimenting without directly addressing the root of the problem”.
“With the presence of Artificial Intelligence applications, there will always be a way for those who cheat and leak exams to continue with their misdeeds,” Rabab Al-Moqadem,themother of a grade nine student, said. “Ministry officials must dig deep into the actual reasons for cheating and the different methods used to fix the problem,” she added.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 10 April, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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