Remember when George Bush highlighted reforming education in the region, as a way of fighting “terror,� giving young Arabs a chance for a bright future and bla bla bla bla bla? Well, it seems to be working.
A high school student in a Nile Delta province failed her Arabic language exam two weeks ago for criticizing the US in a composition piece! Yes, I’m not joking wallahi.
Al-Wafd initially ran the story on Thursday, then the Qatari Al-Raya, and other media outlets picked it up. Alaa Farag Megahed, a student at the Sherbeen Modern Girls School, was taking her Arabic exam, when she was asked to write an essay on the “economic problems facing Egypt.�
It seems the girl wrote an essay, critical of Bush, and discussed the support given to corrupt dictators without much concern for their people’s needs.
As soon as her teacher at the “Control Room� (where exam papers are graded) read her essay, he went directly to his boss, who took her paper to the ministry of education branch in Dakahliya. The undersecretary for education, together with other ministry officials, sent for the girl, from her home, and brought her to the ministry for interrogation.
Her father was not allowed into the room, according to press reports, where Alaa was interrogated by three ministry and governorate officials, who accused her of belonging to a “secret organization.� Alaa could not understand half of the questions they asked. She was clueless, in tears. The ministry officials decided in the end to fail her in the exam, and ban her from taking the second term final exams!!!
The world is sure a safer place now, without terrorists like Alaa in our schools… Alhamdolillah!
A high school student in a Nile Delta province failed her Arabic language exam two weeks ago for criticizing the US in a composition piece! Yes, I’m not joking wallahi.
Al-Wafd initially ran the story on Thursday, then the Qatari Al-Raya, and other media outlets picked it up. Alaa Farag Megahed, a student at the Sherbeen Modern Girls School, was taking her Arabic exam, when she was asked to write an essay on the “economic problems facing Egypt.�
It seems the girl wrote an essay, critical of Bush, and discussed the support given to corrupt dictators without much concern for their people’s needs.
As soon as her teacher at the “Control Room� (where exam papers are graded) read her essay, he went directly to his boss, who took her paper to the ministry of education branch in Dakahliya. The undersecretary for education, together with other ministry officials, sent for the girl, from her home, and brought her to the ministry for interrogation.
Her father was not allowed into the room, according to press reports, where Alaa was interrogated by three ministry and governorate officials, who accused her of belonging to a “secret organization.� Alaa could not understand half of the questions they asked. She was clueless, in tears. The ministry officials decided in the end to fail her in the exam, and ban her from taking the second term final exams!!!
The world is sure a safer place now, without terrorists like Alaa in our schools… Alhamdolillah!
Oh my god!
I don’t think she failed because she criticized america, but because she criticized the regime and this is why they thought she was in some sort of a secret organization.
ya hossam,
i thought the same as BP. she probably got into trouble for insinuating that ‘ammu hosni is a corrupt dictator, not for criticizing bush jr.
cheers,
–raf*
http://www.aqoul.com
[…] Brian Whitaker posted on the Guardian’s blog an article on Alaa Farag Megahed, the high school student who failed her exam because of a composition she wrote critical of Bush. How to pass your exams in Egypt Brian Whitaker, June 27, 2006 11:13 AM “Blessed with abundant supplies of water, fertile soil and a flourishing tourism sector, Egypt has fewer economic problems than most countries in the Middle East. Under the wise leadership of President Hosni Mubarak, its prosperity has increased beyond all expectation …” Yes, I know, it’s rubbish. But if you’re an Egyptian student and happen to get an exam question on the economic problems facing your country, this would probably be a good way to start. I mean, you do want to pass, don’t you? According to several reports in the Arabic media, 15-year-old Alaa Farag Megahed, from a girls’ secondary school in the Nile delta, got it all wrong. The examiner marking the papers didn’t like her essay and passed it to his boss, who passed it to the ministry of education. (Full article) […]
After Alaa’s affair snowballed into a scandal, with the girl appearing on newspapers and TV screens, Baba Hosni, with his big heart intervened to support her:
http://www.almasry-alyoum.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=21966
The girt will pass the Arabic exam, and will be allowed to take her 2nd term exams.
what kind of mentality is that!..starting with the teacher who corrected the girl’s exam paper to the inspector, to the minister who all believed, i mean geniunly believed, that the president is almost a god that should not be referred to except in praise! or else one will go to his hell on earth…its a shame that this thought has been embedded in simple people’s minds to the extent that they report to the authorities if they cross by someone with a different opinion, God save us…and i mean by God Allah of course, not you Mr. President. 🙂
There is a structure, which is recommended for writing the research paper. It includes title page, contents page, Abstract, Introduction, literature review, Discussion (in can includes sub-headings), conclusion, and reference List.