Cambodia Tightens High School Exam Security with 4-Stage Screening

The Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport has announced the implementation of a four-stage rigorous screening process for the 2026 High School Graduation Exam (Bakdup), scheduled nationwide for August 10, 2026. This measure aims to prevent cheating and ensure the fairness and transparency of the examination, upholding the principle of "those who know will pass." The screening will be conducted in four phases: at the entrance of the examination center, at the classroom door, inside the classroom, and after the written exam has commenced. At the examination center entrance, any documents suspected of being used for cheating, as well as calculators, smartwatches, mobile phones, and other electronic devices, will be confiscated or the candidate will be asked to take them back. A second check will occur at the classroom door. If any suspicious items are found, they will be confiscated and recorded with the candidate's name, room number, and seat number, then handed over to the invigilator. Inside the classroom, before the exam paper is distributed, the invigilator will make a final announcement, encouraging candidates to voluntarily surrender any prohibited items. Surveillance will continue even if no voluntary surrender occurs. After the written exam begins, if cheating is detected, invigilators and examination committee members will immediately report it. The candidate involved will be stopped from continuing the exam and taken to the central committee for a detailed report. If cheating is confirmed, the candidate will automatically fail the exam and may be temporarily detained by the central committee until the exam period concludes. Specifically, calculators, smartwatches, mobile phones, and other electronic devices will be confiscated upon discovery, regardless of whether they are in use, and recorded with the candidate's identification details. These items will be returned after the exam concludes, but the examination authority will not be responsible for any loss. It is noted that only examination committee members, heads of examination centers, security heads, and health officers are permitted to use mobile phones and electronic devices within the examination premises. For the upcoming 2026 examination, there will be 244 examination centers with a total of 6,207 classrooms. Of these, 68 centers (1,533 classrooms) are for science streams and 176 centers (4,674 classrooms) are for social science streams. Source: Kampuchea Thmey Local