Egypt’s 2026 Secondary Exams Conclude This Week Amid Heightened Security
Egypt’s secondary school examinations for the 2025/2026 academic year are entering their final phase, with officials confirming that rigorous security protocols remain in place to ensure the integrity of the testing process.
For general secondary students, the exams are scheduled to conclude this Thursday. The final subjects include biology for science track students, applied mathematics for mathematics track students, and statistics for those in the arts track.
Khaled Abdel-Hakam, Head of the Central Administration for Examinations and General Head of Secondary School Exams, emphasized that every stage of the examination process is fully secured. This security chain spans from the initial printing of questions to their transport to distribution centers, and finally to the examination committees and monitoring centers. Abdel-Hakam has directed officials to ensure that concept papers are delivered to students before testing begins and that all question booklets—including translated versions—are correctly distributed according to the specific data for each committee.
Azhar Secondary Examination Scope and Logistics
Parallel to the general secondary exams, the Al-Azhar secondary certificate examinations are also nearing their conclusion. According to data released regarding the 2025/2026 academic year, there are 163,677 students registered to sit for these exams across the country.
The administrative preparation for these exams involves a massive mobilization of personnel and infrastructure:
* Total Examination Committees: 581 across all governorates.
* Sub-Committees: 10,230.
* Personnel: 22,660 individuals assigned to monitoring, system, and secretarial duties.
The student body is divided between the scientific and arts sections. The scientific section comprises 81,311 students (41,468 boys and 39,843 girls), while the arts section accounts for 82,366 students (45,633 boys and 36,733 girls). Additionally, 246 students with special needs are participating in the exams.
Operational Calendar and Exam Format
Al-Azhar exams for the scientific section are set to conclude on Wednesday, July 8, while the arts section exams will extend until Thursday, July 9. The testing schedule has been extensive, beginning in early June with core subjects such as the Quran, Hadith, and various linguistic and scientific disciplines.
The exams are conducted using the “booklet” system, which integrates the question paper and the answer sheet into a single bound document. This design is intended to streamline the examination process and reduce opportunities for cheating. According to officials, the questions have been structured to maintain a balance between theoretical and practical knowledge, incorporating multiple difficulty levels to account for individual student differences.
Strict Conduct Rules for Students
To maintain discipline and transparency, the Al-Azhar secondary sector has issued a comprehensive set of regulations for students, which are displayed in testing rooms and assembly areas. The rules are designed to prevent academic misconduct and ensure procedural compliance:
* Prohibited Items: Students are strictly forbidden from bringing mobile phones, Bluetooth headsets, specialized communication glasses, or any personal notes, books, or papers related to the curriculum into the examination hall.
* Stationery Requirements: Students must use blue ink pens for their answers. Pencils are permitted only for drafting purposes.
* Identity Protection: Students are prohibited from writing their names, seat numbers, or any identifying marks inside the answer booklet.
* Submission Protocols: Students must not leave their seats before handing over their booklets to the observer. Failure to sign the attendance and departure records is considered an absence for that subject.
* Booklet Integrity: Students are required to check their booklets for missing pages before beginning the exam. If a defect is discovered, the booklet must be replaced immediately. Damaging, tearing, or folding the booklets is strictly prohibited.
* Time Constraints: Students are not permitted to exit the examination hall before half of the allotted time for the subject has passed.
During field visits, such as the one conducted by Dr. Moamen El-Hawary, Head of the Central Administration for the Ismailia Azhari Region, at the Mohamed Gabr Institute in Qassasin, officials have expressed satisfaction with the regularity and discipline of the committees, emphasizing that these measures are essential for maintaining the transparency of the examination cycle.
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