Cheating warning for NI exam students
Education chiefs in Northern Ireland tonight urged students to think twice before copying material from the internet or carrying mobile phones into exams.
The Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) said the number of cases of malpractice increased from 47 to 53 in the last year.
It also confirmed three A-Level and GCSE students in the province were disqualified for cheating.
Martin Quinn, CCEA Exams Administration Manager, warned students they face a harsh penalty if they break the rules.
He said: “We are talking about hundreds of thousands of entries, about 750,000 in Northern Ireland, and out of that number there were only 53 cases of malpractice.
“This is a very small number of candidates.
“It is not an epidemic but it is still increasing.”
Mr Quinn added: “I would urge students to think before they download material and not to bring their mobile phones into exams.
“They will be penalised and A-Level students run the risk of losing out on a place at university.”
Mr Quinn said the penalties for offenders can range from a written warning to disqualification from all qualifications and a ban from taking future exams.
He said students who copy material from the internet are mainly caught out by their failure to reference material, while those with mobiles forget to put them off or are exposed when alarms go off.
Mr Quinn also voiced concerns about developments in mobile communication technology.
He added: “A girl with a bluetooth phone could wear a gel ear piece, concealed by long hair, and be in contact with someone on the other end of the line.”
The exam body confirmed one A-Level student and two GCSE students were disqualified this year.
A CCEA spokeswoman said: “We take cheating very seriously and it obviously can have very grave consequences.”
A-Level and AS-Level results for the province will be published tomorrow, while GCSE results will be released on Tuesday.
