Chinese schools go to extremes to stop students cheating on notorious exam
The gaokao was sat by more than 13 million students in China this year and authorities used facial recognition, metal detectors, drones and phone signal blockers to ensure no one cheated
Millions of students in China who sat the country's highly competitive university entrance exam were this year faced with some of the most extreme anti-cheating methods yet.
More than 13 million students sat the national two-day exam, known as gaokao, earlier this month. It is the world 's largest academic test and determines whether students can secure a place at university.
The record number of people sitting this year's exam experienced a slight change, however, with facial recognition technology, metal detectors, drones and phone signal blockers all regularly used in schools as the Chinese government clamped down on cheating. The methods also involved the use of AI firms, with some of the country's major AI platforms freezing specific functions during test hours.
This meant, for example, that if a student tried to upload a picture of an exam question, they were met with a message telling them that the feature was not available, Mail Online reports. One tech giant, Tencent, told those trying to use the platform during exam hours: "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."
Chinese AI model DeepSeek took up similar measures. When 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 firm added that this was to "ensure fairness in the college entrance examination" with bosses confirming the functions would "return to normal after gaokao". According to China Daily, exam rooms in Benxi, Liaoning were monitored by a real-time intelligent surveillance system that "automatically flags irregular behaviour". This can be anything from whispers to frequent glances between students, the report said.
It comes after Chinese authorities announced students would need to pass stricter entry checks before being let into exam rooms. Students were screened for devices such as phones and smartwatches, with security gates at every exam site capable of detecting small metal objects which may be used to cheat.
Candidates also underwent facial recognition, fingerprinting or iris scans to prevent people from impersonating those meant to be taking the exams. Identity checks were conducted multiple times before, during and after the tests.
"Cheating technologies are evolving every year, so this year's entry screening process is stricter than ever," said Liu Yang, principal of Benxi Senior High School. "At the school gates, students are reminded not to carry prohibited devices, and lockers are provided for safe storage. On exam days, dedicated staff also inspect key areas such as walls, restrooms and bins to prevent any form of external information transmission."
Since 2016, anyone caught cheating in an exam in China can be sent to prison. Cheaters face up to seven years in jail and be banned from taking other national education exams for three years.
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Daily Mirror
5 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Chinese schools go to extremes to stop students cheating on notorious exam
The gaokao was sat by more than 13 million students in China this year and authorities used facial recognition, metal detectors, drones and phone signal blockers to ensure no one cheated Millions of students in China who sat the country's highly competitive university entrance exam were this year faced with some of the most extreme anti-cheating methods yet. More than 13 million students sat the national two-day exam, known as gaokao, earlier this month. It is the world 's largest academic test and determines whether students can secure a place at university. The record number of people sitting this year's exam experienced a slight change, however, with facial recognition technology, metal detectors, drones and phone signal blockers all regularly used in schools as the Chinese government clamped down on cheating. The methods also involved the use of AI firms, with some of the country's major AI platforms freezing specific functions during test hours. This meant, for example, that if a student tried to upload a picture of an exam question, they were met with a message telling them that the feature was not available, Mail Online reports. One tech giant, Tencent, told those trying to use the platform during exam hours: "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." Chinese AI model DeepSeek took up similar measures. When 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 firm added that this was to "ensure fairness in the college entrance examination" with bosses confirming the functions would "return to normal after gaokao". According to China Daily, exam rooms in Benxi, Liaoning were monitored by a real-time intelligent surveillance system that "automatically flags irregular behaviour". This can be anything from whispers to frequent glances between students, the report said. It comes after Chinese authorities announced students would need to pass stricter entry checks before being let into exam rooms. Students were screened for devices such as phones and smartwatches, with security gates at every exam site capable of detecting small metal objects which may be used to cheat. Candidates also underwent facial recognition, fingerprinting or iris scans to prevent people from impersonating those meant to be taking the exams. Identity checks were conducted multiple times before, during and after the tests. "Cheating technologies are evolving every year, so this year's entry screening process is stricter than ever," said Liu Yang, principal of Benxi Senior High School. "At the school gates, students are reminded not to carry prohibited devices, and lockers are provided for safe storage. On exam days, dedicated staff also inspect key areas such as walls, restrooms and bins to prevent any form of external information transmission." Since 2016, anyone caught cheating in an exam in China can be sent to prison. Cheaters face up to seven years in jail and be banned from taking other national education exams for three years.
Daily Mail
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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.
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