One more chance for students caught copying in Baccalaureate exams

The students who were caught copying in the first two Baccalaureate exams and got their papers annulled will not take the tests again next year, as it was earlier announced. The Ministry of Education decided to give them one more chance and will allow them to sit the failed exams in the additional examination session, Info-Prim Neo reports. “This is the last time that we make an exception, given the tense atmosphere that was created, the established relations and the very harsh reactions coming from parents. Taking into consideration that we have two more very serious exams, we decided to believe in the Moldovan students one more time and to warn them about the inadmissibility of using illegal methods,” Minister of Education Mihail Shleahtitski told a news conference. The minister said that the measures will be more drastic in the next exams. It was established that the students are convinced to resort to illegal acts by grownups – parents, relatives, elder friends or even teachers. After the first Baccalaureate exam, the Ministry of Education announced that the tests of 21 students will be invalidated. During the second exam, the Baccalaureate centers were searched by officers of the Center for Combating Corruption and Economic Crimes. The officers discovered mobile phones at students from Nisporeni, Falesti, Svetlyi village of Comrat district, and two lyceums situated in Chisinau. A record number of mobile phones were found at one of the two Chisinau lyceums – 163 phones at 268 candidates. The papers of these students were to be annulled.