Sudan: ‘Frustration and anxiety’ after exam paper leak

Acknowledgement by the Ministry of Education of reports that the chemistry paper in the Sudanese Secondary School exams was leaked, have been met with a wave of frustration and anxiety. Amid earlier reports of leakage of other subjects including Arabic and English, demands have been voice for all exams to be retaken, and dismissal of the Ministers of Education and Interior.

Teacher Duriya Babikir, the deputy head of the Teachers Committee, warned of the negative psychological and educational effects of the leakage of exams, saying that this will cast a negative shadow on the entire educational process.

She considered the leakage as a waste of the efforts of students and their families, held the responsibility of securing the documents to the Examinations Committee, asked to investigate the alleged leakage of Arabic and English languages.

She described the leakage of exams as a reflection of the chaos and general deterioration in various aspects of life in the country.

Babikir pointed in an interview with Radio Dabanga to the chaos and the weakness of proctoring and controlling in the examination centres and attributed the leakage of examinations to the violation of the rules and standards in the development of examinations, the selection of characters and the failure to provide strict security measures in the transporting the examinations and expressed surprise at involving figures from outside the education sector in the protection.

She pointed to large sectors of teachers’ boycotting of proctoring and correcting of the exams because of the poor financial return and explained that the ministry has collected huge amounts of fees from the students for examinations.

Babikir called on the government to provide an environment conducive to work, aids and the material and that help proctoring and correction.

Security Sub-Committee

Educational expert and chairman of the Teachers Committee, Yasin Hasan Abdelkarim, told Radio Dabanga about the Security Sub-Committee holding of a meeting on Thursday to consider the issue of leaking exams and expected decisions on the alleged leakage of Arabic and English examinations.

He attributed the leakage of exams to the failure to observe the standards of competence and integrity in the selection of officials of the examination centres which made them subject to material temptations in addition to not inflicting deterrent penalties on the former convicted for leakage of the examinations.

He held the responsibility of the leakage for the committee of examinations of the Sudan and the chamber of security for failing to secure the examinations, demanding the implementation of the principle of investigation and accountability

NUP

The main opposition National Umma Party held the responsibility to the Ministries of Education and Interior for failing to protect the exams and disregarding students' rights which is causing the whole educational process to collapse in the country.

Yesterday the party demanded in a statement dismissal of the ministers of education and interior and holding the officials responsible for education in the country accountable.

The National Umma Party’s statement said that it is a passing event in the face of rampant corruption in all the pillars of the state with incentives to corruption, sabotage of public life in Sudan and protection of the corrupt.

The statement stressed that what happened makes fighting corruption not a file for political and media consumption, but a real national project that leads to accountability for the whole regimes for crimes committed against the homeland and the citizen.

The teachers, families and students in Delling in South Kordofan expressed concern over the leakage of the exams, including the chemistry which the ministry has acknowledged and announced intention to retake the exam later.

Mubarak Habila, who is an educational instructor at the Sudanese certificate test centres in Delling, told Radio Dabanga that chemistry paper was also leaked via media to Delling early the same day.

Education Minister expected that the Ministry of Education would later issue a decision to return all the Sudanese certificate exams, pointing out that the current trend is not only in chemistry but also extended to all other subjects which increased the dissatisfaction of students and all the relevant sectors

Yesterday morning the means of social media circulated angry letters by the mothers of students demanding justice and accountability.

The Sudanese certificate exams are attended by more than 500,000 students, distributed in scientific, literary and professional tracks.

Yesterday Second Vice-President Hasabo Abdelrahman and Attorney General Omar Ahmed Mohamed discussed at the Republican Palace the developments of leaking of the chemistry exam during the Sudanese certificate exams for this year.

In a press statement after the meeting, the attorney general announced that he issued a decision to form a committee to investigate the leakage of the chemistry exam, as the Sudanese Secondary School exams are considered to be of national security.

The attorney-general explained that the committee was formed by the head of public prosecution and others.

The decision explained that the committee is competent to investigate all the facts related to leaking the chemistry exam, those who contributed to the leakage and helped disseminate it through social media.

SPLM-N

The Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North of Malik Agar leadership, strongly condemned the manipulation of the fate and future of the Sudanese students after the exams were leaked.

Yesterday the movement demanded in a statement protection of the reputation of the Sudanese certificate by taking all measures to cancel the examinations and return them again, as well as demanding dismissal of the Minister of Education, the Director of examinations and all the competent authorities in the examinations, with the immediate and public accountability of the network of corrupt who are directly responsible for this scandal.

Social media outlets reported that some Sudanese certificate exams were being sold in the market for students before they sat down, especially Arabic language, chemistry and English language which have been ignored by the government since the release of the news in the past two days.