‘Zero student’ Mariam Malak loses second appeal

A forensic committee has ruled against Mariam Malak, the star pupil who tried to appeal her high school exam scores. She had claimed that her final exams were switched with another student's, causing her to score zero.

The finding means that Malak’s failed grades will stand, despite allegations of corruption.

Malak, who received high grades for her schoolwork and on previous exams, took her case public when she scored zero in all seven subjects on her thanaweya amma high school exams in July. 

Universities and individual departments accept students entirely based on thanaweya amma scores, meaning that the exams often determine a student’s entire future.

Students who fail more than two subjects do not have the opportunity to re-sit their exams the same year, and have to repeat their final year of high school.

Malak claimed she was the victim of corruption. Her lawyers speculated that her exam papers had been switched with another student’s to guarantee a high score for the son or daughter of a powerful figure.

Her initial appeal was denied in August, when the forensic authority ruled that the handwriting on the contested exam papers matched Malak’s. 

The education minister responded with a statement warning that students who make false accusations of fraud would be banned from re-taking the exams for three years.

Despite the failed appeal and the harsh response from the ministry, Malak’s case drew widespread public sympathy.

A social media campaign took off, with thousands using the “I believe Mariam Malak” hashtag to show their support of the student, turning her into an anti-corruption icon.

Then-Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb met with Malak and assured her that she would be served justice, promising to “support her like a daughter” until the truth was revealed. 

Pope Tawadros II also invited the student for a meeting. Malak, who is from a Coptic family, declined, saying her case is not related to religion and that she would pursue her rights through the legal system, rather than turning it into a sectarian issue. 

With public support behind her, Malak’s appeal against the forensic authority’s initial ruling was then accepted. The prosecution formed a five-member committee to reexamine the contested papers.

The results were announced on Wednesday, with the committee again finding that the handwriting on the exam papers matched Malak’s, once again casting the student’s future into doubt. 

According to the privately owned Youm7 newspaper, the head of the unit responsible for high school exams in Assiut is considering a lawsuit against Malak and her family, citing abuse and false accusations of fraud.