Anti-Cheating Devices in Baccalaureate: Moroccan Center Condemns ‘Intimidation of Students’

Rabat – The Moroccan Center for Human Rights has released a statement to express concerns about the use of anti-cheating devices in exam venues amid regional and national baccalaureate exams.

The center issued the press release on Tuesday, expressing dissatisfaction with the conditions surrounding the regional first-year baccalaureate exams (also known in Morocco as 1er bac or 6eme annee – lycee).

It also expressed concerns as hundreds of thousands of Moroccan students prepare to sit the national baccalaureate exams, which will kick off on June 4.

“Based on alarming reports coming from various regions, the Moroccan Center for Human Rights has identified serious violations accompanying the implementation of the decision to use electronic cheating detection devices inside exam halls,” the center said.

The human rights group said the measures transformed exam halls into environments resembling “interrogation and intimidation,” arguing that the entry of inspection committees with detection devices after students had already taken their seats resulted in the “forced loss of valuable exam time.”

The center said the delays ranged from 15 to 40 minutes, describing the process as an “arbitrary and poorly implemented procedure” that amounts to a “blatant injustice,” particularly for students who had prepared diligently throughout the year.

The center reaffirmed its firm commitment to all efforts aimed at safeguarding the credibility of national diplomas and against all forms of cheating. It, however, expressed its “categorical rejection of improvised and security-based approaches that undermine students’ dignity and severely damage equal opportunity,” the statement added.

For the center, such measures cause psychological harm to students, holding the “supervising ministry fully responsible for the psychological and academic harm” suffered by students.”

Reports recently said Morocco is preparing to deploy T3 Shield, a second-generation anti-cheating device designed to detect radio waves during exams.

Reports said the device will be deployed starting in June, equipping over 2,007 exam centers across the country to secure this year’s baccalaureate exams.

In May, Minister of Education Mohamed Saad Berrada told MPs that the baccalaureate session will be marked by the introduction of a new digital system to monitor exam proceedings and reduce management errors.

He reassured MPs that this measure comes in light of the large number of exam takers, estimated at 520,000.

He acknowledged that high schools will be equipped with 2,000 new electronic devices to detect mobile phones and operations inside exam halls.

The national baccalaureate exams will take place from June 4-6. Results will be announced on June 17.