The Ethiopian government has blocked
social media sites across the country so as to enable students prepare
adequately for the nation’s University entrance exam.
The government said the ban was to
prevent students being distracted from studying during the exam period
and to prevent the spread of false rumours, BBC reports.
“They will be unavailable for several
days while university entrance exams are taken, a said. It’s a
temporary measure until Wednesday. Social media have proven to be a
distraction for students,” spokesman for the Ministry of Education, Getachew Reda said.
The blocked sites include Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Viber.
This is the first time social media
sites have been publicly blocked nationwide. Although social media sites
have previously gone down for a couple of hours in time past with the
government denying involvement.