Drones Over Exams: A Battle Against Academic Dishonesty

Cheating students can be found everywhere, but in China, it has reached epidemic proportions, especially concerning the university entrance exams. Nearly all high school graduates in China take this crucial test, which determines their potential university and significantly impacts future job opportunities. Chinese teenagers study fervently for these exams, and many are desperate enough to succeed that they develop sophisticated cheating methods. Simple notes on sleeves or reminders written on palms are child's play. Among the methods devised: minuscule earpieces and speakers, with the speaker controlled by a top student (compensated in advance) while those needing help wear the earpieces, drink bottles that are actually cameras, and ordinary-looking glasses capable of scanning and emailing images.

The Chinese government has taken a serious stand against this cheating scourge. In recent months, before the university entrance exam dates, dozens of students were arrested on suspicion of planning cheating schemes. The government didn't stop there: during entrance exams held in Luoyang, grueling tests spanning two to three days, a special drone was dispatched to oversee the examinees. This drone, hovering above the exam area, could detect electronic signals from technological devices like cameras and earpieces smuggled into exam halls despite the ban.

Interestingly, the drone didn't find any evidence of cheating activities in the exam centers. Have Chinese students truly learned to abstain from copying, or are their methods too sophisticated for government countermeasures? For now, the question remains unanswered.