Education Minister (Yesh Atid) Rabbi Shai Piron plans to make many changes in his ministry, and he is beginning with matriculation exams. Piron’s staff is taking steps to block cellular telephones in halls hosting matriculation exams to eliminate the possibility of using a mobile phone to cheat on an exam. It should be pointed out that today a student may not bring a cellular telephone into an exam, but based on data surrounding the matriculation exams, ministry officials have learned that the phones are still smuggled in under the radar. The cellular signal blocking will not become standard procedure, and its use will be limited to schools in which a many students have been caught cheating on exams.

Ministry officials add additional measures will also be taken, but point out cheating in recent years has been on the decline. In 5771, 0.66% of matriculation exams were disqualified, 8,840 exams out of a total of 1,333,764. The year with the highest recorded number of disqualified exams was 5769, 11,322 of 1,375,339 exams (0.82%). The statistics for 5772 have not been finalized.

Most of the disqualified exams were from the Arab sector. Of a total of 218 classes disqualified, 213 were from the Arab sector.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)