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Website's Pictures Lift The Lid On Uzbek Exam Cheats


This cunning plan didn't quite hoodwink security officials outside the National University of Uzbekistan on the day of college entrance exams.
This cunning plan didn't quite hoodwink security officials outside the National University of Uzbekistan on the day of college entrance exams.
August 1 is D-Day for Uzbeks hoping to start their university studies in the fall. The day can also be quite profitable for cheating rings and professional test-takers, as documented by Daisy Sindelar and RFE/RL’s Uzbek Service.

This year, some 431,000 Uzbek youths are vying for just 56,000 spots in universities across the country. For some, mastering the art of cheating becomes a priority, as it’s the only way to beat the slim odds of eight students competing for each university spot.

This point was hammered home one day after the state exams on August 2, when the Uzbek website Gazeta.uz published some glossy close-up photos of students who were caught redhanded using various wheezes (such as taping mobile phones to their arms) in order to get the best exam results.

What remains unclear, is how, (what appears to be) a professional photographer was allowed inside the exam halls to take such high-quality close-ups.

PHOTO GALLERY: Uzbek University Entrance Exams

-- Deana Kjuka

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Written by RFE/RL editors and correspondents, Transmission serves up news, comment, and the odd silly dictator story. While our primary concern is with foreign policy, Transmission is also a place for the ideas -- some serious, some irreverent -- that bubble up from our bureaus. The name recognizes RFE/RL's role as a surrogate broadcaster to places without free media. You can write us at transmission+rferl.org

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