By Sebi Alla
For at least five years in a row, high school exam papers have been frequently posted on social media while the exams were still in progress. The most recent case was the mathematics test, where only 20 minutes after the exam started for around 27,000 students, the exam paper appeared online, raising suspicions about the failure to take preventive measures, as well as concerns about cheating and manipulation of results for certain students. ‘The State Matura Exam in Mathematics is being conducted fully in accordance with the security standards set forth in the relevant regulations, and the release of the exam paper after students have begun the test does not impact the conduct or integrity of the process’, the Ministry of Education officially stated in a social media response. The same position has been taken for other subjects following the publication of their exam papers.
Regulation
The Center for Educational Services has published (since 2023) an extensive updated regulation consisting of 34 articles regarding the conduct of the State Matura and Professional State Matura, which also forms the basis for the guideline on organizing and administering this year’s State Matura exams.
Specifically, Article 21 states that the exam administrator is strictly prohibited from publishing the State Matura test in any form during the exam administration process. Moreover, Article 34 of the regulation, available on the official website, outlines a series of disciplinary measures, including dismissal from duty in cases where the exam is published ahead of time.
Experts
According to education expert Prof. Ndriçim Mehmeti, the leaking of exam papers after the test has started is an act of institutional irresponsibility. ‘The Ministry of Education’s repeated response to every exam leak, that ‘this does not compromise the process’, is a mockery of the public, students, and parents, further exposing the irresponsibility of the highest educational authority in Albania’, Mehmeti stated. He also notes that ‘in its own reports, QSHA (note: Center for Educational Services) highlights the existence of artificially inflated grades in both the districts and Tirana, yet provides no analysis as to why this is happening’.
Responsibility
The responsibility for the smooth conduct of the exams lies with the Ministry of Education, the Regional Directorates of Pre-University Education, the Local Offices of Pre-University Education, and the Center for Educational Services. All four institutions have failed to prevent the early release of exam papers before the exams conclude, as well as to detect and address cases where tests are photographed and then published online.
The only case where disciplinary action was taken occurred in Durrës, where a high school graduate was expelled after being caught photographing the test.
Article 23 of the regulation published by the Center for Educational Services prohibits students from possessing mobile phones during the examination process.
Faktoje.al sent several questions to the Ministry of Education regarding this issue, specifically, why exam papers continue to leak every year, what measures have been taken, and whether this violation affects the examination process. However, by the time this article was published, there was no response. The process for obtaining a reply is currently in the appeals stage.
Suspicions of ‘intervention’
‘As teachers involved in exam administration admit, they are pressured with threats to their jobs to allow certain students to cheat, and sometimes even to distribute the answers themselves. In some schools, exam administrators and Ministry of Education employees come with lists indicating which students will be assisted’, Mehmeti told Faktoje.al. According to him, the measures to prevent cheating or favoritism for specific students remain a persistent issue. ‘Cell phone signal blockers are deliberately turned off at the start of the exam, and physical checks are done merely as a formality, without any responsibility. No one has been punished or penalized, so the Matura process has effectively turned into a crime scene where knowledge is stolen in broad daylight with the approval of the Ministry of Education, and the ones who suffer are the students who have worked and struggled for 12 years’, Mehmeti stated.
Impact on skill levels
Education expert Ndriçim Mehmeti told Faktoje.al that there has been a year-on-year decline in educational standards. ‘The harsh truth is that fewer good students are entering higher education. This is reflected in this year’s results, where the average grade in both mathematics and literature is one point lower than last year. We have fewer excellent students and more students with minimum passing grades, such as 5 and 6’, Mehmeti said, placing most of the responsibility on the country’s educational leadership institutions. ‘The results are often distorted, and the worst part is that no efforts are being made to stop this trend. The Ministry of Education conducts closed-door analyses with its own personnel, who are actually the main parties responsible for this catastrophic situation in education’, he added.
Conclusion
The publication of all Matura exam papers has been a recurring problem over the years, and the measures taken have failed to produce positive results. There are still suspicions that the early release of exam papers may have influenced the distortion of true results for certain students, although official reports on this matter are lacking. The regulation for 2025 does exist, but it has been openly violated in at least two of its articles (Article 21 and Article 23).
In the absence of an official response from the Ministry regarding actions taken, and when comparing the regulation drafted by the ministry itself with the recurring nature of the problem, the commitment to prevent the publication of exam papers during the administration process must be considered unfulfilled.
