“I do not fear arrest, and more leaks will be forthcoming next year unless the educational system improves and corruption is eradicated in Egypt.” Thus, the administrator of the Chao Ming Bighachich Thanaweya Amma (Chao Ming Helps High Schools Cheat) Facebook page threatened the Ministry of Education June 15, following a leak of national high school exam questions and answer sheets.

In 2012, a few students exploited the proliferation of electronic devices in Egypt to form a Facebook page with the motto “God, Country, Chao Ming,” where high school exams were leaked in order to undermine the educational system.

Four years later, in 2016, the page went beyond leaking exams to posting the ministry’s official answer sheet. This has caused a political crisis in Egypt after the Arabic-language exam and the ministry’s answer sheet were leaked on June 5, merely 30 minutes after testing began — despite the fact that their dissemination is outlawed. This, in turn, forced the ministry to postpone the theology exam, scheduled to take place on that same day, until June 29.

Approximately 570,000 students take the national high school exams, which started June 5 and will end June 28. The secondary school phase of education represents a source of great pressure to students and parents alike because of the economic drain it causes on the resources of families bent on garnering the highest possible grades needed to join the best universities.