How to pass your exams in Egypt

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)

Also, the Arab Press Freedom Watch issued statement calling for a “stand against the killing of free thinking in Egyptian schools.”