Students are cheating with tech in exams now more than ever

It’s up by 42 per cent since 2012


According to new Freedom of Information requests made by the Guardian, there has been a 42 per cent rise in students cheating in exams with the use of technology.

Experts have stated that the actual number on students cheating is probably a lot more, due to the advances of technology becoming so sophisticated, a lot of them wouldn’t have been caught. Such ‘invisible’ aids can be bought online for as little as £11, which is why it’s not surprising that the numbers are on the rise.

In 2016 there were 210 reported cases where hidden devises were used by students to cheat, and one in four of those who have been caught cheating use electronic devises such as mobile phones, smart watches and ear pieces. Cheating is not that unusual, and isn’t that surprising with the amount of stress most students feel during the exam period. Many become desperate to achieve that 2.1 or First degree and don’t always care how they achieve the result.

Newcastle University reported 91 cases of cheating in 2016, being one of the worst offenders, and 43 per cent of those involved used technology. Of the 154 universities in the UK, 41 provided proportional information. However, many said that they couldn’t specify which devices were being used. But where more detail was provided, most cases involved mobile phones.

But, cheating is not just confined to university students. A 2015 study conducted by The Student Room, found 11 per cent of students on all levels cheated in public exams with their ages being between 14 and 24 years old. More than one in ten GCSE, A-Level and university students have admitted to cheating this year, according to the study.

The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education said: “Clearly there’s potential for wearable tech to allow dishonest students to cheat. We are looking into this and will raise this with the group of experts who are helping to steer our contact cheating work.”