An exceptional attempt at cheating on one of this autumn matriculation examinations has led to the nullification of the results of all of the exams taken by the pupil in question.
Under the rules, merely bringing a mobile phone into a matriculation examination would have been sufficient grounds for disqualification.
"If a mobile phone rings in a bag during an examination, the decision is exactly the same, according to the regulations", says Juhani Lokki, chairman of the Matriculation Examination Board.
Lokki says that cellphones are absolutely forbidden both for those taking the examination and for those supervising the exam. Each year there are a few such cases.
However, in most cases he believes that the violation of the mobile phone ban results from carelessness rather than a desire to cheat.
This incident was unusual, in that there was an apparent direct attempt at using the mobile phone to actually cheat on the exam. The matter was reported on Tuesday in a Finnish Broadcasting Company (YLE) newscast.
Some years ago, amidst rumours of skullduggery with mobiles and SMS messages, one ingenious Finnish IT teacher allegedly developed a cellphone detector device that flashes and beeps when one is used in the immediate vicinity.
