Legislators block funding to 'punish' exams authority for cheating bungle

The examinations authority was criticised by legislators yesterday over a blunder that may have enabled students to cheat on their English exam using internet-enabled mobile phones.

The Legislative Council's panel on education said the bungle was the latest of several and refused the authority's request for $22 million to set up an on-screen marking centre on Hong Kong Island - a 'punishment', in the words of legislator Cheung Man-kwong.

'It seems every year you have some problems,' said Mr Cheung, who represents the education sector. 'But we never dreamt that you would include internet addresses on the HKCEE exam so that students could cheat.'

Students who took the HKCEE English Syllabus B exam complained last Thursday that some candidates used Web addresses on the bottom of exam paper pages to cheat while on toilet breaks.

Francis Cheung Wing-ming, deputy secretary-general of the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority, told legislators that the authority was liaising with police and internet service providers in an attempt to access data that would show how many people had accessed the web pages in question using mobile phones at the time the exam was under way.

'So far there is no evidence to show that anyone actually did cheat,' Dr Cheung said.

However, the authority would review its procedures and tighten controls on the use of all electronic devices.