Cheating in exams using a mobile phone, watch, or MP3

High school students fulfilled the dream of their teachers and parents in building a special relationship with modern technology. But the dream was not a happy one, because the students used this technology in a way that was not consistent with the goal for which it was developed.

This was confirmed by school principals and students who saw their colleagues preparing to take exams minutes before their scheduled time, by ensuring the integrity of connections and sound level.

According to what they told Emirates Today, there are modern methods of cheating practiced by high school students, including cheating by using a mobile phone, as the phone is connected to a very small Bluetooth headset that is placed inside the ear, and can only be seen up close and with intense focus. The student contacts someone, such as his private teacher, or any other person, to teach him the answers accurately.

They told Emirates Today that there are several other ways, such as using a sophisticated Casio watch to photograph all the pages of the book, and the student easily turns the pages stored on his watch while sitting in the exam hall. An accurate, small-sized camera can also be used to photograph the exam paper, as it is placed in a watch… and connected to a mobile phone, and a small earphone is placed in the ear, in addition to using an MP3 device, after recording the information on it, and pasting the “cheat sheets.” » Bottom of the shoe.

They demanded that students be searched before they take the exam, and that radio technologies be used to detect the presence of any mobile phone or other device with students inside the committees. They explained that the headphones are covered under the “ghutra” or students’ hair, or they are hidden under the female students’ veil or “sheila” or under their long hair, so that cheating students do not obtain high grades by stealing, unjustly, in light of the hardship that outstanding students face. In studying in order to obtain grades that would qualify them to reserve seats in universities, they desired it and sought it with real diligence and effort.

Uneducational behaviour

On the other hand, the Acting Director General of the Ministry of Education, Ali Mehed Al-Suwaidi, confirmed that high school students cannot be searched before they enter the exam halls, because “this is non-educational behavior, and the Ministry seeks to create a sound educational culture and behavior for all students.”

He continued: “Just because there are a few who practice fraud and cheating within the committees does not mean that we inspect all high school students, not to mention that the method of inspection will constitute a pressure factor on students who are naturally nervous before taking the exam and are worried about the questions and the consequences of their answers.”

Al-Suwaidi pointed out that “the student comes to the exam to measure his level and know his abilities, and not to be subjected to inspection,” stressing that it is necessary to instil confidence in the students’ hearts and not put pressure on them, pointing out that the Ministry “will not implement inspections for high school students before they enter the exam hall to reveal what They may hide it inside their clothes, because this is considered uneducational behavior.”

Al-Suwaidi called on the observers of the examination committees and school administrations to tighten control over the students taking the exams, and to carefully follow up the work within the committees. He also asked them to focus on cheating students and take the necessary measures against them.

Response from the other party

The mother of the student (Y.J.) said that there are male and female students who practice the latest methods of cheating in the high school exams, reassured that it is difficult to detect them. She explained that her daughter told her that some of her colleagues use a very precise Bluetooth headset, as it is connected to a mobile phone without the need for wires connected to it. It is placed inside the ear, so if the committee observer stands next to the male or female student, he cannot hear the sound coming from the other side, whether it is a private teacher or any other person, as the student reads the question when he has the opportunity to do so, and then waits for the response from the other party.

She added that students in different committees can form a group call via their mobile phones, linked to another person to receive answers from him, as they speak fewer words so as not to attract the attention of committee observers.

She stated that the value of the tiny hearing aid that is placed inside the ear ranges between 1,500-1,700 dirhams on normal days. However, this value increases on exam days, reaching more than 3,000 dirhams.

Cheating in clothes

A student at a school in Abu Dhabi (H.A.) mentioned that there are other ways to cheat, including an MP3 device and using wireless phone headphones that require a wire close to the speaker placed inside the ear.

She said that to overcome the fact that female students are not allowed to wear the abaya inside the examination committees, some of them attach the phone or MP3 device to their bodies, where no one can see it, and in silent mode so that her matter will not be discovered if it is placed on ringing or vibrating, and the girl calls the person. The other is to support her by solving questions, before she enters the examination hall.

She added that some female students wear closed blouses and hijabs to cover the neck and ears, to hide the wire placed around the neck due to the importance of its presence near the tiny stethoscope placed inside the ear.

Students also wear a closed-necked kandura to hide the wire wrapped around the neck under the ghutra. The student was surprised that male and female students were not searched during the high school exam unless suspicions arose about one of them. Thus, male and female students can easily hide cheating methods inside their clothes. She said that she worked to uncover this secret because she studied hard in order to get high grades in the exams, but she was surprised that female students lower in level than her got high grades because of the modern cheating method.

The most deserving student

The principal of Umm Ammar Secondary School, Amina Al-Majed, said that she discovered a case of cheating in 2005 at the school where she previously worked. There was a student who looked at the clock every moment. The monitoring committee noticed this, and left the girl to confirm her suspicions, so the student increased her looking at the clock. Then the observer approached her and found that she was wearing a modern Casio watch on which topics from the school book were stored in the form of pictures.

The director of the Palestine School of Secondary Education, Sheikha Al-Zaabi, stated that she had observed a case of cheating in home exams three years ago inside the school, as there was a student using a mobile phone by attaching it to a speaker that she hid under her hair, and the student put the phone in her back pocket, and the cord inside her clothes. But the surveillance noticed this and took the necessary action regarding it. She said that cheating operations make her deeply saddened, because the student suddenly feels that his academic future is threatened, so he tries to do anything so as not to lose hope of the possibility of compensation. But the problem is that his success in this way means that he took something that he did not deserve, and that he was sitting in a study seat where there was another student who was more deserving of sitting.