Hommam Al Nassim 
On Monday evening, human rights bodies called for an investigation into the suicide of a schoolgirl who threw herself from the top of a cliff on the beach in the city of Safi (central-western Morocco).
The girl committed suicide after she was caught cheating on the first day of the baccalaureate (high school) exams, in which about 500,000 students participate.
The head of the “National Association for the Defense of Human Rights in Morocco” (a non-governmental organization), Abderrahim Hanami, called for a thorough investigation to be opened into the suicide of the 17-year-old student.
He urged the Public Prosecution and the Ministry of National Education, Primary Education and Sports to reveal the reasons and arrange responsibilities, describing the incident as “unfortunate” and leaving a strong shock in the city and the country.
An audio recording was widely circulated on Monday evening, revealing that the student went to the beach in the city of Safi after she was caught cheating using her phone during the exam, and a cheating report was issued against her by the monitoring committee. The student spoke in the recording about being expelled from the exam and her fear of punishment and asked her family and everyone to forgive her and pray for her mercy.
It was not possible to obtain a comment from the Regional Directorate of Education and Training in Safi despite repeated attempts on Monday evening.
Human rights activist Hanami considered that the student’s suicide incident reflects the “failure of the educational system” to provide psychological support to students approaching high school exams, pointing to the absence of awareness and focus on punishment.
High school exams began in Morocco with the participation of about 500,000 students, after an exceptional academic year that witnessed strikes and protests by thousands of professors who rejected the basic system for employees of the national education sector. Campaigns to sell technological tools aimed at cheating are increasing as the exams date approaches, despite strict monitoring by the authorities and the Ministry of Education.
The Ministry of Education established a cheating law in 2016, which includes prison sentences and financial fines, and the Ministry imposed special procedures to ensure the success of exams and prevent cheating, including committees equipped with equipment to detect electronic media and mobile phones inside exam centers.
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