Many IELTS tests were leaked before the exam, with answers available?

In some South Asian countries, cheating in the IELTS exam such as falsifying certificates, leaking test papers before the exam date or even 'taking the exam for someone else' is increasingly common.

IELTS cheating is happening in some South Asian countries

Taking advantage of paper-based IELTS test?

Confirming with The PIE News recently, an IDP official from Pakistan said that many IELTS test prep teachers and study abroad consulting companies in the country have taken advantage of the paper-based IELTS test to commit cheating. "The test papers are often leaked from an unknown source, possibly the night before the test. This may happen because the test is held globally and there is a time zone difference between test locations," the official commented.

According to this person, the IDP team in Pakistan has witnessed people paying 1,700,000 PKR (about 130 million VND) to buy scores and the most common IELTS cheating occurs in Punjab province, especially in big cities like Lahore, Faisalabad... This unit even discovered a consultant who had access to the answers of all exams and on each exam day, about 350 of this person's students would receive the answers in advance.

Previously, cheating candidates were only banned from taking the test temporarily. But now, if they are caught, their IELTS test results will be permanently cancelled, the official from IDP, one of the global co-organizers of the IELTS test, emphasized.

According to Kousar Sharif, Director of IELTS Nextage Institute in Lahore, Pakistan, IELTS cheating is the work of dishonest brokers who promise to increase candidates’ scores by falsifying documents and other services. Some brokers charge PKR 700,000 (VND 64 million) for an IELTS score of 6.0, and even send candidates to the United Arab Emirates to cheat in the speaking test.

“To address these issues, exam certification bodies such as IDP, the British Council and Cambridge must strengthen their internal controls and recruitment processes. In addition, stakeholders must also deploy technology to monitor employee activity and ensure that all staff involved in processing scores are thoroughly vetted,” Ms Sharif said.

In Vietnam, Thanh Nien also reported that many subjects specialized in advertising and selling "real" IELTS test papers for prices ranging from several million to hundreds of millions of dong.

"Examining" certificates is also flourishing

A new trend emerging in Pakistan is the “proxy” testing of English certificates, where cheating brokers will assist candidates in taking the test or even impersonate candidates to take it, especially in online tests. “They can bypass the security system, especially in the listening, reading and writing sections,” said Dr. Osamah Qureshi, Director of Education Ireland, who has more than 20 years of experience supervising English exams.

More and more new tests are being offered entirely online, such as DET, and traditional tests are also being offered in home-based versions, such as IELTS Online. Dr Qureshi added that most of the “proxy” tests in Pakistan were for the purpose of applying to UK universities, and many universities have asked candidates to take the test in person to prevent this.

In South Asia, another country, India, has seen a number of IELTS-related scams in recent years. In Gujarat, nearly 1,000 candidates cheated to get high scores, prompting authorities to issue a wanted notice for the scammers. And in Punjab, many people have fallen victim to online scams after trying to buy IELTS certificates advertised online without taking the test, The Indian Express reported.

Meanwhile, in Vietnam, Thanh Nien has repeatedly mentioned fraudulent activities related to many types of international English certificates such as "More than a hundred million VND to buy 'real' IELTS test papers?", "Racing 'scholars' to get real English certificates"... related to IELTS, Aptis, VSTEP and TOEIC exams. Responding to Thanh Nien at that time, both IDP and the British Council affirmed that there were no signs of cheating during the exam organization process.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nhieu-truong-hop-de-ielts-bi-ro-ri-truoc-khi-thi-san-luon-ca-dap-an-185241218113329257.htm