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Wireless ear pieces, automatic erasers alleged in cheating scandal

More than 2,400 potential pharmacists in X’ian, China have been banned for two years from taking the national comprehensive pharmacy licensing exam after they were found to be complicit in an elaborate cheating scheme, according to an October 28 report in the Want China Times.

Using wireless ear pieces and “electronic erasers,” the large-scale scam took place at seven different locations, and involved fake candidates who would take the test and quickly memorize questions. They would then broadcast correct answers to students who had wireless ear pieces. The cheating service cost students 330 USD.

Students were caught after investigators detected abnormal radio signals at the test sites.

According to the report, the mass cheating is believed to have been influenced by a newly revised law that states only licensed pharmacists can run a pharmacy and that anyone currently running a pharmacy without a license must have a license by 2015. Currently, over twice as many pharmacies as pharmacists exist in places like Shanxi, where there are over 8,500 pharmacies, but only 4,000 licensed pharmacists.

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