Kuwaiti teacher and officials jailed for leaking exam papers on social media

Dubai: A Kuwaiti teacher and two education officials have been sentenced to three years in prison with hard labour for their roles in leaking high school examination papers through social media.

The Misdemeanour Appeals Court this week upheld a lower court’s ruling against the three defendants, a former head of the Ministry of Education’s secret printing press, a female staff member, and a teacher, following charges of disclosing confidential government information.

The convictions followed an intensive investigation led by Kuwait’s Public Prosecution, in coordination with the Ministries of Interior and Education, after a series of exam leaks were discovered circulating on social platforms such as WhatsApp, sometimes sold for varying prices.

Authorities found that the operation was not isolated. Investigators uncovered a network involving intermediaries, including minors, who acted as conduits for distributing the leaked exams.

Huda Ata is an independent writer based in the UAE