Internet services will be cut on exam days to foil cheating students
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Internet services in the Kurdistan Region will be temporarily suspended on the exam days in a bid to prevent cheating, the Ministry of Transport and Communication has announced.
“To prevent cheating during examinations, it has been decided that internet lines be cut off during examinations,” reads a statement from the ministry.
The decision was made in a meeting on Sunday by the ministry’s director of the chief of staff, the spokesperson of the ministry, the representatives of internet companies, and the head of examinations in the education ministry.
Fiber optic lines, Wi-Fi and cellular internet will all be affected, starting from May 27, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 11 a.m.
Twelfth grade exams are extremely important for students, as their average grade determines which university or department they will be admitted too.
Clamping down on students who take mobile internet devices into exam rooms is a high priority amid a worryingly high rate of cheating.
Both the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the federal Iraqi government have blacked out internet access several times in past years, usually around exam time. Because much of the internet infrastructure is owned by the government, this is a fairly straightforward task.
The ease with which they are able to do this has caused concern among human rights groups, who say such powers could undermine freedom of information and expression.
“To prevent cheating during examinations, it has been decided that internet lines be cut off during examinations,” reads a statement from the ministry.
The decision was made in a meeting on Sunday by the ministry’s director of the chief of staff, the spokesperson of the ministry, the representatives of internet companies, and the head of examinations in the education ministry.
Fiber optic lines, Wi-Fi and cellular internet will all be affected, starting from May 27, between the hours of 8 a.m. and 11 a.m.
Twelfth grade exams are extremely important for students, as their average grade determines which university or department they will be admitted too.
Clamping down on students who take mobile internet devices into exam rooms is a high priority amid a worryingly high rate of cheating.
Both the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the federal Iraqi government have blacked out internet access several times in past years, usually around exam time. Because much of the internet infrastructure is owned by the government, this is a fairly straightforward task.
The ease with which they are able to do this has caused concern among human rights groups, who say such powers could undermine freedom of information and expression.