Education ministry: Severe irregularities found in Jaljulya high school matriculation exams

Following suspicions, investigative team finds “severe irregularities” and evidence of cheating in 65 students’ tests.

By DANIELLE ZIRI
Arab students 390 (photo credit: REUTERS)
Arab students 390
(photo credit: REUTERS)
The Ministry of Education announced on Tuesday that after investigating the suspicion that seniors in a high school of the Arab town of Jaljulya had collectively cheated on the Arab language matriculation exam administered this summer, “severe irregularities” and evidence of cheating were found in 65 students’ copies.
The suspicion arose after the Ministry of Education had received reports from sources at the school, including some of the students’ parents, that students had compromised the integrity of the exam.
Following the complaints, the ministry pledged to conduct a  “thorough examination” of the Arabic matriculation exam completed by students of the Jaljulya school and had decided to freeze the grading process until the matter had been cleared.  
As the story was reported by Reshet Bet last month, director-general of the Ministry Dalit Stauber had stated that “the ministry will not compromise when it comes to maintaining the integrity of the tests and will, on the other hand, ensure that no student will be hurt if no suspicions rose about them”
Stauber added that “there is no place for producing false scores using improper and untruthful methods” and stressed that “it is important that the grades reflect investment, persistence and real learning.”
According to the ministry, 252 matriculation notebooks were examined in total. Eleven suspicious copies were found in the Arab Language exam, 35 in Mathematics, 14 in English, one in History, two in Biology, and two in human resources management.
Students whose copies were found to irregular may file an appeal to the board in charge of the integrity of exams at the Education Ministry.