HARGEISA (Halbeeg)- The breakaway Somaliland on Tuesday blocked social media sites across its regions to avert exam cheats during its secondary school examinations.
The examinations which were set by Somaliland Ministry for Education kicked off on Monday.
The government said the ban was to prevent exam irregularities, the spread of fake papers, false rumours.
Speaking at a press conference, Somaliland Minister for Telecommunication and Technology, Abdiweli Sheikh Ibrahim said the shutdown is aimed at preventing the spread of leaks during the examinations.
He noted that they will be unavailable for hours when the examinations are underway.
“It’s a temporary measure which will run for hours when the students are sitting for the exam papers. Social media has proven to be a threat to the examinations,” Mr. Ibrahim said.
According to the minister, the blocked sites included Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, IMO, and Viber.
The platform has been the fastest and shortest way used by the conmen during examinations.
any students in Somaliland have become reliant on social media to access and pass on leaks during examinations.
Witness in the region confirmed that WiFi and cellular internet access has been cut off.
It is not the first time that Hargeisa has pulled the plug on the internet.
Somaliland restricted the access to social media sites during last presidential elections.
The phone companies were directed to block more than a dozen social media outlets in order to limit hate speech and “fake news”.
It includes Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Snapchat, Viber, Flickr, Instagram, LinkedIn, Duo, Google Plus, among others.
Somaliland in northwestern Somalia declared independence in 1990 when Somalia descended into civil war.
Despite relative peace and stability, the region has failed to secure International recognition.
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