ts-alg1123

I'm not disagreeing with you, as the ability to communicate and disseminate information freely is extremely vital. However I don't think there's a comparable milestone/goal/event in the west as to the bac in Algeria. It is a big deal for them: parties are thrown if you pass, people sob if they don't. Familial expectations often overwhelm the students. Sure we have stuff like SAT/ACT, and some people place emphasis on those, but not to the extent or reach as over there.

I don't want to touch on the merits of the exam as a whole, but rather just state that this exam is a big deal to a majority of people over there and they view the shutoff as a necessary inconvenience.

Back in 2015/2016 parts of the exam got leaked on Facebook and resulted in a lot (>10,000) students having to redo the exams because of it. Ever since then internet restrictions come around the bac and everyone is aware and just plans around it. I had a family member who had to retake it and they were beyond furious. Prepping to take their bac was a big undertaking and very stressful.

I don't agree with the internet shutoff, but I can understand where it's coming from and hope that they figure out a better way to solve the underlying problem.