China amends rules to prevent exam cheating

BEIJING - The Ministry of Education on Monday issued amended rules concerning punishments for cheating on national exams in response to a growing trend of using technology to cheat on the tests.

The ministry posted the revisions on its website, adding 15 stipulations to the regulations, which were first issued in May 2004.

The ministry said the regulations have been revised for the first time to respond to "new circumstances, problems, technology and rampant mass cheating," adding that the original regulations had become outdated.

The rules have been expanded to cover entrance exams for art and physical education programs, as enrollment violations have frequently occurred in these areas.

Carrying equipment that is "capable of sending or receiving signals" into an exam is prohibited by the new rules, which previously forbade only cell phones and other telecommunication devices.

The new rules also clarify the role of surveillance cameras in exam administration, as the devices are an important way to collect evidence if cheating is suspected.

Falsifying others' exam registration information or disturbing order during an exam will also result in punishment, the revisions say.

In recent years, online sales of electronic equipment and other devices used to cheat on exams have increased, and leaks of confidential exam content occasionally occur.

Preventing cheating has therefore become a "serious challenge" for the Ministry of Education, according to the ministry's website.

However, the ministry's efforts have already shown some results. The rate of cheating violations for China's annual college entrance exams has decreased for five consecutive years.

Last week, the ministry announced the results of an investigation into a leak of exam content during the 2012 national postgraduate exam, finding that an educational staffer had leaked the content.

The revisions also outline penalties for organized cheating conducted by teachers, as well as those who facilitate cheating by providing exam content.

The rules state that exam organizers should report cheaters to their schools, which are then required to handle the cases or even expel the cheaters.

Government workers who participate in exam cheating should be "severely punished" by discipline inspection and supervision departments, according to the revisions.

Anyone who is caught cheating on a national exam will be barred from taking the exam for one to three years following the violation, according to the revisions. An appeal process has been amended for suspected cheaters who rebuke their accusations, the revisions state.

An unnamed Ministry of Education official said the revisions are designed to "address outstanding problems in the national exams and build a scientific system of exam management in order to safeguard the legitimate rights of students and staff."