Exam Malpractice: Algeria Blocks Access To Social Media, Disrupts Internet Connection

In a bid to impede examination malpractices, the Algerian Government, on Sunday, blocked access to social media platforms, as students sat for their exams.

Social media platforms that were restricted from being accessed included Twitter, WhatsApp, and Facebook.

The disruption was observed across the country.

The move came after authorities announced the arrest and one-year jail sentencing of a teenager who was caught sharing results of an Arabic language test via social media.

The teenager was sentenced to jail on Wednesday following a law enacted in April that made cheating in exams a criminal offense.

In the amended law on exam malpractice - a law spawned into existence after there had been a spate of exam malpractices over the years - anyone found guilty could face up to 15 years in jail.

READ ALSO: Egyptian Archaeologists Discover 2,500-Year-Old Coffins

The country's Ministry of Justice has been cracking down on perpetrators of exam malpractice, sentencing those who have been accused of spreading leaked exam papers and solutions.

The same move was made in 2016 when hundreds of papers were leaked and the government had to block access to social media platforms.

Included in the arrests were heads of national exam centres and teachers who were suspected to have had a hand in the leak.