WHAT WAS CLAIMED
The Solomon Islands education ministry will release a list of students who used leaked exam answers.
OUR VERDICT
False. The Facebook "notice" appears on a fake ministry page.
AAP FACTCHECK - The Solomon Islands education ministry won't be releasing the names of students who cheated in exams, despite a Facebook post falsely claiming to be an official threat from the ministry.
The ministry has confirmed that the "notice", and the Facebook page on which it was shared, are fake.
The post, which appeared on October 31, 2024, said: "Tomorrow, we will release the list of students identified as having used leaked exam answer sheets. This step is essential to maintain integrity in our examination system and ensure fairness for all students."
A subsequent post contained a list of names and said: "The Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development has identified the following individuals as 'suspected leaked exam paper users' .... Note: this is just the first list, more lists will be updated soon!.."
The posts appeared on a Facebook page made to look as if it is the official page of the Solomon Islands' Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development.
A statement overlaid on the the cover photo says its vision is "for all Solomon Islands to develop as individuals and acquire knowledge" - but it misspells vision as "vission".
The page has only 720 followers, and 194 likes, at the time of writing.
The official Ministry of Education & Human Resources Development Facebook page has more than 27,000 followers and 16,000 likes.
The official ministry Facebook page posted a warning about its fake counterpart on February 3, 2025, saying it was using an old ministry design and strongly condemning anyone involved in spreading disinformation.
"The Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development (MEHRD) is aware of a fake social media page falsely claiming to represent the ministry," the post said.
"This page has been spreading misleading information, including allegations of leaked exam papers and inappropriate content. The individual behind this fake page appears to be attempting to discredit the ministry's work both locally and internationally, using an old MEHRD profile design to mislead the public.
"The senior management team of MEHRD assures the public that any content posted on this fake page does not originate from the ministry. We strongly advise the public to ignore it, refrain from sharing its content, and avoid engaging with it in any way."
The same advice was shared on the website of the Solomon Islands government on February 3.
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