Meckenheim, 11 April 2013
The good old cheat sheet has had its day. Today, smartphones are the much quicker and easier way to fudge on. As one of the first schools in Germany the Konrad-Adenauer-Gymnasium in Meckenheim has now in good time to the Abitur exams adopted measures to prevent cheating by equipping all public toilet areas that are released for use during the exams with MobileWall.
With the new technology all illegal mobile activity or mobile data transfer occuring in these areas is automatically detected within milliseconds, the supervising teaching staff is instantaneously informed. Since carrying or, still less, the use of mobile phones during the exams is strictly forbidden, the attempt of cheating is thus apparent. And it is then up to the school to decide how they are going to punish the infringement of rules.
“It were students who have brought this security hole that, until then, was obviously often used to our attention”, tells school principal Hans-Jürgen Jüngling. He is enthusiastic about the new technical solution. The deterrent effect alone is readily apparent: Since the day of implementation significantly more stu- dents comply with the request to hand out their mobile devices at the beginning of the exams than before.
NRW Secretary of Education Sylvia Löhrmann confirmed in a recent interview on the issue that the school alone makes the decision whether or not to introduce the mobile detection technology. Löhrmann: “It is clearly established that mobile phones and other mobile devices are not allowed in the schools’ examination rooms, not even when switched off.”
According to the NRW Ministry for Schools the introduction of mere detection solutions like MobileWall therefore is permitted. However, technical devices that serve to eliminate or to precisely locate mobile devices are not allowed, since they would affect the legal position of students.