Egypt's Ministry of Education identified and arrested students who leaked questions from the thanaweya amma (high school) final philosophy, geology and statics exams on Sunday, a statement by the ministry read. 15 students identified as cheating online during the day's examinations have been arrested, according to an informed source at the education ministry who spoke to Al-Ahram Arabic news website on Sunday. The questions and answers were leaked online during the exams, allowing students who managed to smuggle their mobile phones into exam rooms to copy the answers. The ministry withdrew the entry of students who leaked the exam and will refer them to the relevant authorities for legal procedures. The students were identified as coming from Cairo and Egypt's Daqahliya governorate in the Nile Delta, according to the ministry's statement. Sunday marks the last day of exams for the 650,000 students sitting this year's tests. Although the Egyptian education ministry has taken many measures to prevent the leaking of the exams, a string of online leaks has persisted since the start of the thanaweya amma exams three weeks ago. The questions and answers of the French, English, Arabic language, algebra and solid geometry, physics, history, dynamics and psychology exams have all been leaked online during the progress of the exam. Over recent years, exam questions and answers for several thanaweya amma subjects have been leaked online. This has urged Egypt's Parliament to approve amendments last year to a law toughening the penalties for academic cheating and other exam violations, including publishing exam questions and papers and possessing mobile phones and other wireless devices in examination rooms. Penalties for contributing to exam leaks include hefty fines of EGP 100,000-200,000 and jail terms between two and seven years.
