Statement by Revolutionary Socialist Students: Dismiss the Minister and Reform the Admissions System: Solidarity with High School Students

Statement by the Revolutionary Socialists

Day after day, the state and its institutions reveal another face of failure and decay. With every incident, they persist in proving through their actions and policies that there is no path to a better future except through struggle and change.

The state has offered high school students—who have every right to be angry—nothing but a crumbling and outdated education system that cannot even prevent the leaking of exams during one of the most critical stages of their academic journey. This state shamelessly denies responsibility for this disgrace and punishes hundreds of thousands of students collectively by canceling, re-administering, and delaying their exams. These desperate attempts to cover up the Ministry of Education’s failure to prevent the exam leaks show a blatant disregard for the impact of such negligence on these students and their futures. When students protested these decisions and demonstrated peacefully, they were met with accusations and indifference. The state unleashed its police force to crack down on their protests in an even more desperate attempt to contain the crisis, intimidate students, and force them to accept the status quo.
It is no secret that the state, driven by its business-oriented agenda, aims to privatize further education, strip students of their right to free education, and entrench nepotism and class discrimination. By turning education into a commodity and a business, the state reinforces inequality and marginalizes the less privileged.

The recent decisions to cancel and postpone exams were the spark that ignited the anger of high school students. However, their demands and slogans have evolved on the ground and across social media platforms, extending beyond mere protests against the exam fiasco. Despite the deliberate distortion of their cause in most media outlets, their slogans reveal a deep awareness of the crisis within the education system. Their demands reflect this awareness, as they insist on reforming the unfair admissions system and replacing it with a more efficient and equitable mechanism for university placement. They also call for the dismissal of the Minister of Education and the accountability of officials in the Ministries of Education and Interior for exacerbating the crisis, assaulting students, and arresting them during last week’s protests.

Despite the obstinacy, indifference, repression, and intimidation, high school students are renewing their protests today outside the Ministry of Education in Cairo, boldly and resolutely reaffirming their demands. Their courage and determination deserve praise.

We salute the students and their movement and extend an open invitation for solidarity. We call on student unions, labor unions, political parties, movements, human rights organizations, and independent individuals to stand with the students, adopt their demands, and support their just cause in every way possible.

Let us participate, share news of the protests, and expand the circle of solidarity. Today, let the struggle of high school students be a struggle for us all.
Revolutionary Socialist Students