The authority managing the ongoing International Baccalaureate (IB) exams will launch an investigation into test papers being leaked online after it found evidence of cheating.
The IB said on Sunday that it found a small number of students had engaged in “time zone cheating” and there was “no evidence” the practice was widespread, although the Post found the papers had been downloaded more than 45,000 times.
The leaks have prompted widespread outrage among students, including those currently sitting the exams in Hong Kong, with some calling for the tests to be cancelled or sat again.
“We have identified the source of this activity and are taking appropriate steps to hold those responsible accountable,” the organisation said.
“Where we have identified students, the IB will open a formal investigation for malpractice, and students may receive no marks for their examinations or no grade for the relevant subject.”
Time zone cheating occurs when students who have finished their exams share their recollection of questions to help others in regions who are yet to take the tests. It is prohibited under the IB’s academic integrity policy.
“To date, there is no evidence of widespread cheating and we are confident that this activity remains at the fringes of what is otherwise a standard exam session.”
From links circulating on the online forum Reddit, the Post had earlier found the leaked questions and answers for mathematics papers.
Screenshots of a Telegram channel also had links to questions for business management, global politics, mathematics, physics, biology and chemistry.
A downloading site showed that two documents – “Paper 2 Math AA HL” and “Maths AA HL Questions” had been downloaded by more than 17,000 and 18,000 people, respectively, as of Saturday night.
Documents labelled “Business Management Paper 1” and “Global Politics HL Paper 2” had also been downloaded over 8,000 and 2,000 times, respectively, as of Sunday afternoon.
The exams for the four papers took place between April 26 and May 2.
More than 2,800 people have also signed an online petition urging the IB to cancel this year’s exam or to ensure justice for students who did not read the leaked materials.
The Switzerland-based IB diploma programme, which lasts two years, is an internationally recognised university entrance qualification. It was taken by almost 180,000 students globally last year. Last year, 2,275 pupils sat exams for the programme in Hong Kong, up slightly from 2,213 in 2022.
The IB and Diploma of Secondary Education are Hong Kong’s two major university entrance exams.
The 2024 edition of the IB exam is being held between April 24 and May 17.