A growing number of students in England are cheating in their exams,
with many using mobile phones to boost their marks.
The
Qualifications and Curriculum Authority, the examinations watchdog, found
that more than 4,500 candidates were penalised for malpractice last year,
an increase of 27 percent on 2004.
Of these, around 1,100 students were caught smuggling mobile phones into examination rooms, the
body said in an annual report.
Students caught cheating face disqualification from all or part of
their exams, or the deduction of marks from their work.
The most common type of malpractice, involving 1,887 students, was
smuggling cheating aides into the exam, according to the report.
Around a third -- 1,414 -- of the penalised candidates took part in
plagiarism, collusion or copying another's work.
Students were also penalised for exchanging suspicious information,
disruptive behaviour and altering results documents.
Other offences included using obscene material, failing to follow invigilators' instructions and theft of work.
Ken Boston, chief executive of the examinations watchdog, said: "Over
recent years we have seen a noticeable rise in the number of mobile phone
related incidents in examination halls across the country.
"As we enter the summer examination season I have written to schools
and colleges to remind them of their responsibilities to impress upon
students the importance of not taking mobile phones into examinations."
Despite the rise in cheats, the overall proportion of penalised
students was remained low, representing just one in every 1,500 results,
or around 0.06 percent of results.
(Agencies)
