In 2016, student exam papers were publicly available and posted online. The government needed to reschedule the exams because of this reason.
In 2017, in its attempt to prevent exam leaks from happening again, Ethiopia shuts down the entire internet in its nation.
"The shutdown is aimed at preventing a repeat of leaks that occurred last year," said Mohammed Seid, public relations director of Ethiopia's Office for Government Communications Affairs. "We are being proactive. We want our students to concentrate and be free of the psychological pressure and distractions that this brings."
Mohammed said that the internet shut down in the country only restrict access to social media outlets. Other services such as airline bookings and banking aren't affected. Connection is also available without restriction at embassies and international organizations.
There are more than 100 million people throughout the Horn of Africa country, and less than one million of those people are taking the exams.
This isn't the first time Ethiopia limits the internet to people in its nation. In 2016, political protest prompted the government to shut off access to the internet throughout the country. Addis Ababa was forced to ban the internet for weeks before restricting access to only social media.
The rights group Amnesty International slammed the disruption as an "intent on stifling expression and free exchange of information".
Critics said that Ethiopia is an important Horn of Africa ally of the West sandwiched between volatile Somalia and Sudan, often clamps down on freedoms under the guise of national security.
The government denies the accusations.