A group of deputies has tabled a legislative initiative aimed at cracking down on cheating in national exams and competitions. The text provides for the imposition of fines and prison sentences against anyone involved in planning, organizing or promoting cheating, while limiting the sanctions imposed on the student concerned to disciplinary measures.
In a statement on national radio this Wednesday, May 6, 2026, MP Hatem Lebaoui, one of the initiators of the project, affirmed that exam cheating has transformed into an activity organized by networks operating from abroad to Tunisia, through the sale and promotion of sophisticated equipment on social networks.
He specified that the proposed prison sentences vary between one and five years, while the fines range between 20,000 and 100,000 dinars for anyone who planned cheating or who deliberately manufactured, acquired or marketed devices intended for this use.
The initiative also provides for sanctions against any public official who abuses their functions to commit or facilitate cheating, or to disclose exam subjects. These offenses would be punishable by two to five years in prison, accompanied by a fine of 10,000 to 20,000 dinars, as well as a ban on holding public office.
For his part, the expert advisor on school life Mahrez Drissi insisted on the need to moralize competition and strengthen respect for knowledge.
He also proposed the organization of media awareness campaigns in order to promote the ethics of exams and to remind people that cheating constitutes a reprehensible practice.
