Cheating during the bac exams can be sanctioned administratively, but also criminally. Fine, prison… What do you risk in the event of bac fraud? Here is the information to know and share with students before the tests.
Cheating at the baccalaureate is considered a fraud, which can be heavily penalised. If the student is taken into flagrant delicto of fraud during the baccalaureateby using a device, a document which is prohibited during the examination, or by pretending to be another person, he incurs administrative penaltiesbut also penals sanctions.
The sanction applied generally depends on the nature of the cheat that is committed. Some sanctions are administrativeothers criminal, and are automatically registered in the school report of the fraudulent student and his accomplices. What do we really risk in case of cheating at the baccalaureate? Here is the information you need to know during this exam period.
What are the penalties for cheating in the baccalaureate?
In a press release dated June 13, 2023, the Ministry of National Education reminds students of the various penalties incurred in the event of cheating in the baccalaureate. Indeed, certain behaviors can constitute bac fraud such as use cheat sheets or to a prohibited device (a calculator, a telephone, a tablet, a connected watch), communicate with other students or failing to follow the exam instructions.
- Therefore, the fraudulent candidate may be assigned a reprimand, or be deprived of any mention on his diploma.
- The student also gets grade 0 on the test why he cheated.
- It also incurs a ban on participating in any National Education examination for a period of five years maximum
- and can be refused (for 5 years) when registering in a public institution of higher education.
When the student is taken into flagrant cheating, the witness supervisor must react. The pupil continues his test – except in the event of substitution of person or disorder disturbing the progress of the test – and the adult seizes the pieces of evidence. The supervisor then draws up an oral deposition signed by the other invigilators and the student in question at the end of the exam. This document is then sent to the rector, with a view to referral to the academic disciplinary committee of the baccalaureate. This will have to decide according to the situation within two months after the proclamation of the results of the baccalaureate.
In the meantime, the candidate can neither have their transcript or certificate of achievement, nor enroll in a post-baccalaureate establishment. The student is summoned by registered letter to the committee meeting. The session takes place behind closed doors and takes place even if the fraudster is absent. However, if the student does not agree with this decision, he can always try to challenge it before the administrative court.
What do you risk at the criminal level if you cheat at the baccalaureate?
Depending on the situation, ferry fraud can be accompanied by a prison sentence and a hefty fine:
- Up to 3 years in prison and 45,000 fine for forgery and use of forgery (false copy for example).
- Up to 3 years in prison and a fine of 50,000 euros for the falsification of documents.
- Up to 10 years in prison and a fine of 1 million euros for substitution of identity (identity theft) on the day of the tests.
- 3 years in prison and a fine of 9,000 euros for disclosing the exam subjects.
Suspicion of cheating without proof, what to do?
If there is suspicion of cheating without proof and the student wishes to contest the decision of the academic committee, he can fappeal area by seizing the administrative court of his department within 2 months of the decision being rendered.