Students riot after Congo cancels leaked baccalaureate exams

Thousands of Congo Republic high school students rioted on Friday in three of the country’s biggest cities following a decision by the government to cancel baccalaureate exams after the questions were leaked online. Protesting students in Brazzaville, Point Noire and Dolisie pelted police with stones and attacked property while security forces fired tear gas to disperse them and arrested some. Education Minister Hellot Matson Mampouya said questions for the exams, which began on June 2 and mark the end of high school education, had been leaked and were being shared on social media.

The questions which were being shared on the Internet were the same as the ones the students were supposed to answer the next day. We felt it would be irresponsible to continue the exams with so many irregularities.

Education Minister Hellot Matson

Mampouya said the 66,582 students registered for the exams would have to retake them on a date yet to be decided. He added that the director of exams had been arrested. High school student Judith Irène Balou said questions were forwarded via WhatsApp from the first day of the exams. Answers were obtained from teachers, she said, and exam supervisors were bribed to allows students to bring in answer notes.

Africa