China praised for extreme method to prevent students from cheating during exams as people call it 'genius'

Daily Mail​

5 hours ago

More than 13 million anxious students in China filled exam rooms this year to sit the notoriously challenging gaokao.
The two-day exam determines whether students can secure a place at university, and teens spend years studying for the big test.
But students this year faced more than just academic pressure, as those taking the university entrance exams had to deal with some of the most extreme anti-cheating methods yet.
Facial recognition technology, metal detectors, drones and phone signal blockers were regularly used in schools this year amid the Chinese government's latest attempt to clamp down on cheats.
AI firms have also been involved in the government's latest efforts to curb cheating.
Last week, as students sat to take their university entrance exams, some major AI platforms in China appeared to freeze certain functions during test hours.
This meant that if students tried to upload a picture of an exam question, they were met with a message telling them that the feature was not available in that moment.
One tech giant, Tencent, explicitly cited the integrity of the exams to explain why some of its features were unavailable.
'Dear user, to ensure the fairness of gaokao, this function is unavailable during gaokao hours. Tencent Yuanbao wishes gaokao sitters all success in the exams', the company's chat-bot told users when they tried to upload photos of exam papers during the exam window.
Chinese AI model DeepSeek also prevented users from uploading photos of test papers during the same period.
Asked if photo recognition was suspended because of the exam, the chat-bot answered: 'yes. Deepseek Chat could temporarily suspend photo recognition for test question search during gaokao and other important exams'.
The measure was to 'ensure fairness in the college entrance examination', the firm said, adding that relevant functions would 'return to normal after gaokao.'.
Moves made by Chinese AI companies sent some students into a panic, with one user writing on social platform Weibo: 'College entrance exam candidates, you are all s**t'.
'I can't use DeepSeek to upload pictures, I have to download ChatGPT again, I hope you all go to community college​​​​', another complained.
It comes after Chinese authorities last month announced the use of stricter entry checks at exam points, biometric identification, enhanced screening for digital devices, and radio signal blockers.
The government already made cheating in tests a criminal act back in 2016
Members of the public have had mixed reactions to China's latest cheat-proof measures.
One social media user wrote on Instagram: 'A bold but necessary step. When 13 million students are fighting limited spots, even the smallest tech loophole could disrupt fairness. Respect to China for treating academic integrity seriously.'
'China is 200 years ahead', another said.
'No wonder China is winning', a third added.
Another praised China for 'leading by example', calling them 'trailblazers in modern technology'.
But others were sceptical of the country's anti-cheating measures.
'This is only gonna make [students want to] cheat even more. They're [going to] to try to figure out way around this block.
While China has tried to deter students from using AI technology during their exam periods, in another drastic move, schools have ironically turned to AI patrol and surveillance systems to check if pupils are cheating.
These technologies are designed to detect suspicious behaviour in the exam room, such as whispering, passing objects, exchanging glances, peeking or using forbidden tools.
In the province of Jiangxi, schools are known to review footage taken from exam rooms rooms to detect any potential cheaters.
The suspension of certain AI functions has been widely criticized by university students who say they have been unable to use tools to assist them with their studies.
The education ministry and police have repeatedly urged local governments to take the crackdown on cheating seriously, and this is not the first time China has turned to extreme xxxx in a bid to prevent cheating.
In 2016, China introduced a rule that would see students sent to prison if they were caught cheating in the highly competitive exams.
Cheaters can face up to seven years in jail and be banned from taking other national education exams for three years under the amendment that was made to the Criminal Law nearly a decade ago.
In 2018, six people were imprisoned for their part in a scheme to cheat in school exams
Exam takers were provided with wireless transmitters and receivers and told to read the questions out loud, according to the reports.
Researchers off-site would then find the answers in textbooks and read them to the test takers through their receivers.
The six defendants were sentenced to between 20 months and four years.
University entrance exams are a moment of high stress in China, as millions of students compete for only a limited number of university places.
For students from rural homes, the exam has been praised as a leveller of the playing field and a catalyst for social mobility.