Mayhem in Mogadishu as students protest cancellation of ‘leaked’ exams
By Chad KitunduHundreds of Somali high school students on Tuesday took to the streets of Mogadishu to protest the cancellation of national exams after the papers were reportedly leaked on social media.
Education Minister Abdullahi Godah Bare on Monday announced the cancellation of six exams which had already been taken stating that whole process would begin again on May 27 through May 31.
Local media shared online a video of Mr Abdullahi and the police boss trying calm down students who were protesting against the postponement.
BREAKING Education Minister Abdullahi Godah and police boss’ attempts to address rioting students in #Mogadishu fail after the students shouted them down #Somalia pic.twitter.com/ePX5XqXXwH
— DalsanTV (@DalsanTv) May 14, 2019
At the same time, the government has announced that it will shut down social media during the exams after officials at the Ministry of Education discovered papers were being sold and shared on social media.
“During those five days, no social media outlet will function in the country,” Abdullahi said.
He did not specify which platforms were used to share the papers and which ones will be blocked. The rescheduling will affect over 31,000 students across the country.