Shafaq News- Baghdad
The Iraqi government’s decision to reduce internet blackout hours during national exams has been met with cautious relief by some Iraqis, but debate continues as experts and technology specialists argue the measure fails to address the root problem of weak oversight and exam leaks from within official institutions.
For years, Iraqis have become accustomed to internet outages during public examinations, a measure the Education Ministry says is aimed at preventing question leaks and electronic cheating.
MP Uday Al-Zamili told Shafaq News that the Cabinet’s decisions came “from the heart of the street because officials saw the suffering with their own eyes.”
Former Iraqi Transport Minister Salam Al-Maliki said previous governments also began with decisions that aligned with public realities, but stressed that “implementation on the ground” remains the key issue.
Al-Maliki told Shafaq News that some government policies “may not be fully applicable,” adding that it is still too early to judge the new government based on this decision alone.
In August 2025, the Communications Ministry announced a two-hour daily internet shutdown during second-round examinations, from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m., before later reducing the period to one and a half hours, according to Communications Minister Mustafa Sanad.
Sanad said at the time that “internet service will be cut from 6:00 a.m. to 7:30 a.m. during the examination period,” coinciding with the participation of more than 900,000 students in intermediate-level national exams held across more than 7,000 examination centers.
The issue has long been one of Iraq’s most controversial public grievances, especially after the October 2019 protests, when authorities imposed near-total internet shutdowns and blocked social media platforms.
Rights organizations estimated the disruptions caused losses of nearly $951 million in a single week, in addition to disrupting thousands of businesses, startups, transportation services, delivery platforms, and tourism activities.
In subsequent years, Iraqi governments continued enforcing internet shutdowns during national examinations, though blackout hours were gradually reduced following mounting criticism over economic damage and disruptions to daily life.