Algeria blocks Facebook, Twitter to prevent exam cheating

In order to prevent cheating in secondary school examinations, Algerian autorities on Sunday temporarily blocked access to Facebook, Twitter and other social media.

Algiers: Algeria has come up with a new trick to tackle exam cheating among school students - blocking social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter.

In order to prevent cheating in secondary school examinations, Algerian authorities on Sunday temporarily blocked access to Facebook, Twitter and other social media platforms across the north African country.

The move follows after high school exam papers were leaked onto social media ahead of the exam in early June.

The students accessed questions on Facebook and other social media.

Owing to the leaks, 300,000 of the 800,000 students who sat for the "baccalaureate" exam earlier had to sit for re-exam on Sunday.

“This (move) is to protect students from the publication of false papers for these exams,” the report said, quoting an official.

While Algeria blocked social media to fight exam leaks, similar blockages have been reported in Uganda and Congo Brazzaville regarding unsettling political situations in those countries.

According to a report in africanews.com, earlier this month, police arrested several people, including officials working in national education offices and printers as part of an investigation into the leaks.

(With IANS inputs)