A schoolgirl in Yekaterinburg was allegedly denied access to a toilet for four hours during a state mathematics exam (OGE) due to long queues and insufficient facilities. The incident occurred on June 3rd at school No. 44 on Sanatornaya Street.

The girl’s mother reported that approximately 250 students were taking the OGE in a space ill-equipped to handle that many children simultaneously, leading to significant congestion in the restrooms. The mother believes this constitutes a severe violation of OGE regulations.

According to the mother, the organizers cited chaotic queues involving students from different classrooms and a general lack of available toilets as the reason for the restrictions. Lists were reportedly created to manage the students waiting to use the restrooms.

The head teacher of the school confirmed the presence of queues to a local resident and requested an explanatory note from the examination point (PPE) organizer. The PPE organizer’s note acknowledged that multiple students requested to leave the classroom at the same time, prompting organizers to release students in turns to manage the toilet queue. The note also stated that priority would have been given to any child with an urgent need.

The schoolgirl, overwhelmed by the situation, chose not to file a formal complaint and instead submitted her exam paper prematurely to go home. She is now mentally preparing for a potential retake, as she feels the incident negatively impacted her performance.

The Yekaterinburg Department of Education stated that three toilets were functional during the OGE at school No. 44. The department explained that while there were no explicit restrictions on toilet access, students were directed to the facilities as they became available to manage queues and prevent simultaneous exits. The Department of Education stated that no prior complaints had been received, and additional briefings have been held for PPE organizers.

This incident follows other complaints from Yekaterinburg schoolchildren regarding the OGE in chemistry, where many students were not given credit for correct answers on the test portion of the exam. Similar issues have also surfaced concerning the Unified State Exam (EGE), with teachers identifying problems in the Russian language exam and students claiming the core mathematics EGE was more difficult in the Urals compared to Moscow.