Top Egyptian student scores zero in all her exams

Thousands rally behind Mariam Malak as family claims exams were rigged

Thousands have come forward in support of an Egyptian student who failed all her exams and was given the lowest possible grades in a suspected case of corruption.

Star student Mariam Malak achieved highest or close to highest scores in all her previous exams, becoming one of Egypt’s top-ranked students. However, after receiving her final exam grades Malak fainted, because not only was she not listed among the top scorers but she had failed every exam with a score of zero.

"I was completely shocked," Malak told BBC. "I couldn't hear anyone, I couldn't speak. I thought how can that happen? How can I get zero?"

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Malak’s family who immediately suspected foul play, believe that their daughter has been wronged. "Either the school or the examination board swapped her papers with another pupil who obviously wasn't doing as well," alleged Mariam's brother, Mina.

Although tales of corruption are not uncommon in Egypt's education system, Malak's case received a huge amount of public attention via social media. Using the hashtag "I believe Mariam Malak", a page dedicated to Mariam Malak has over 30,000 likes.

Malak and her family met the country’s prime minister, who promised to review her case. The family are expecting that her grades will be revised. Further, a number of prominent Egyptians have come forward with offers to fund Malak’s further education.

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"We believe in God's justice and the law and watching the support and solidarity we've been receiving from people gives us a bit of reassurance," said Mina Malak. "We want an impartial and transparent committee to re-open the investigation and redo her handwriting test... we will continue until we do justice by Mariam."

Mariam and her supporters refuse to accept the result and have given hope to others who may have experienced such injustice to come forward.

This article originally appeared on BBC