7th June, 2015
BRAZZAVILLE (Reuters) – 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,” Mampouya said. “We felt it would be irresponsible to continue the exams with so many irregularities.”
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.
“From the first day of the exams, we were getting the questions from friends by phone, most often shared through WhatsApp a day before the exam,” said Judith Irène Balou, a high school student.
“We will then get the answers from teachers and then bribe the exam supervisor to allow us to enter the hall with it,” she said, urging the government to punish all those involved.