There is no evidence that such shutdowns have reduced cheating in exams. The problem remains rampant, not least because students have a big incentive to do well
, governments across the Middle East and north Africa have, for years, enforced nationwide internet blackouts during exam season. The practice has been condemned by human-rights activists and wreaks havoc on the economy. Bowing to pressure, Syria’s government said it would stop cutting access to the internet in 2022. But as the school year came to an end, and some 317,000 students made their way to exam centres, the blackouts resumed.
There is no evidence that internet shutdowns have reduced cheating in exams. The problem remains rampant in the Arab world, not least because students have a big incentive to do well. University admissions are based almost entirely on test results; last year only 60% of students in Syria passed.
A fourth internet blackout is scheduled in Syria for June 12th. More are expected as its exam season stretches on through the summer to early autumn. Cutting off access to the internet for the whole country is “ineffective, violent and far-reaching”, says Marwa Fatafta of Access Now, a digital-rights organisation. Although countries seem to be resorting to these tactics less over time, Ms Fatafta has little hope the blackouts will end completely.
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