Hi-tech counter measures are being taken by a number of universities to prevent hi-tech cheating during China's annual national college entrance exams which will be taken by about 9.5 million people this month, Ministry of Education (MOE) said Wednesday in Beijing.

Several police departments last year probed nearly 30 cases involving more than 30 suspects who were caught using hidden telecommunication equipment to cheat on the exams.

Colleges and universities in Shandong, Heilongjiang and Liaoning provinces, started to shield mobile phone signals at exam halls last year, and several other schools are planning the same move this year, even though some experts claim the scrambling devices may have unhealthy side effects.

Last year, approximately 1,700 students across the country were disciplined for cheating and will never be allowed to enroll in colleges or universities.

All the student-hopefuls will be required to sign a paper promising not to cheat in the exams, said Lin Huiqing, the Ministry's senior official in charge of students for higher-learning institutions said

The ministry is also starting a database as of this year that will contain "credibility records" of exam takers in China. Lin said.

China's police will also be on guard to ensure smooth operation of the exams which take place on June 7th and 8th.

Passing the college entrance exams is the only way for Chinese youth to gain access to higher education. The institutions of higher learning in China plan to enroll 5.3 million students including 2.6 million undergraduates this year, which means only one in every four test-takers will eventually be eligible for college enrollment.

Source: Xinhua