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The Ministry of Education has launched a new curricula for both primary and secondary schools in Iraq. The aim is to raise awareness and understanding of the concepts of integrity, transparency, human rights and honesty. The new curricula was designed by the Ministry of Education, in collaboration with the UNDP. This innovative initiative is the first of its kind to be introduced in Iraq.

Thousands rallied behind a top-ranked student in a potential case of injustice and corruption. The student, who had achieved nearly perfect marks in previous years, scored zero out of 100 on all seven exams that she sat. The family believes that she is a victim of corruption and that her papers were swapped with another pupil’s.

In a recent radio interview, the education minister highlighted the national campaign currently undergoing preparation in her ministerial department aimed at students and their parents in order to make them aware of the fight against examination fraud, which is becoming increasingly common in schools. The minister stated that, despite the fact that cheaters are using increasingly sophisticated technology, the education sector is determined to fight this trend.

The online disclosure of college admittance high-school exams has led to nationwide disruptions in Egypt and Algeria. Despite vows by authorities to make sure tests are secure, exam questions have been leaked prior to exam administration in both countries for several years. An October decree by President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi called for prison sentences for unauthorized disclosure of testing materials. But that decrees has failed to deter a cluster of Facebook groups that have leaked exam questions.

The state of Egypt’s public schools is an essential indicator of the ways in which the Egyptian revolution has not reached its citizens. In fact, private tutoring has now become Egypt’s de facto education system. A number of teachers have admitted, unofficially, that they teach the strict minimum in class so as to be able to recuperate these same students in private tutoring sessions. According to some estimates, Egyptian families spend over 1 billion dollars in private classes to compensate for the poor level of education: a cost which comes to almost a quarter of the family income.

In Algers on Sunday, the prime minister reiterated the government’s willingness to fight against fraud in the education sector, following the leaking of the 2016 baccalaureate exam questions, and called on Algeria’s citizens to join the fight against such behaviours. “The recent Fraud experienced in the education and knowledge sector is inacceptable and the government is determined to fight it to its fullest extent” declared the Prime Minister. “When this level of knowledge is targeted, it becomes a matter of national security.”

Algeria has temporarily blocked access to social media across the country in an attempt to fight cheating in secondary school exams. The decision to block social media was taken to protect students de la publication of "bogus questions on those networks", officials told Algeria's APS news agency. Almost half of students are now being forced to retake the baccalaureat exam, starting on Sunday, after the initial session was marred by online leaking.