Two arrested for helping Abu Dhabi high school pupils cheat in exams

The suspects are accused of selling answers to learners for between Dh500 and Dh1,000.

The UAE ranked 40 out of 50 countries in the 2016 Progress International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) with a score of 450.

Two men accused of helping Abu Dhabi high school pupils cheat in exams after accepting cash to provide test answers have been arrested by police.

The suspects allegedly sold answers for between Dh500 and Dh1,000 a time.

The duo, who are both university graduates, used smartphones to pass on the information to learners sitting exams, police said.

“After receiving a tip-off about this kind of criminal behaviour during this year's high school final exams, an investigation was carried out,” Abu Dhabi Police said.

The anti-cybercrime department conducted the investigation, which led to the arrest of the two men.

“The suspects confessed to facilitating cheating through the use of social media applications. Investigations revealed that the suspects were able to provide accurate answers due to their knowledge. They were university graduates,” Abu Dhabi Police said.

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The two men have been referred to Abu Dhabi Public Prosecution.

Police have called on schools to ban mobile phones during exams to help tackle the issue.

It is just the latest in a concerning number of cheating plots to hit schools in the UAE.

In June, the Ministry of Education launched investigations into two mass cheating incidents in a matter of days.

According to reports, a photo of a Grade 12 end-of-year physics exam was sent to a WhatsApp group by a pupil half an hour after they started the test. The aim was to have pupils who were not sitting the exam send those with mobile phones answers to questions.

The ministry said it had determined the school where the cheating happened and promised to take action against guilty pupils, who will automatically fail the exam, and negligent test supervisors.

In a second case, a pupil took a photo of a Grade 12 maths exam and shared it on WhatsApp to cheat.