News Editorial [Common test questions leaked] How to deal with the Internet age

　An anti-fraud measure that corresponds to the digital society is necessary. The contents of the world history question were leaked during the university entrance exam. A 19-year-old female college student admitted to being involved and turned herself in to the police. The tactics known so far, such as voluntary interviews, are as follows. During the exam, the female university student hid her smartphone in the sleeve of her jacket and filmed the question on video. I edited it into dozens of still images, sent them to two University of Tokyo students I met on a tutoring website, and asked them to send me their answers. She pretended to be a high school girl and asked for a trial class, such as "I want you to give a perfect answer." One of the students of the University of Tokyo noticed that it was a problem with the standardized test, and contacted the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, etc., and it came to light. "If it's true, it's an injustice that shouldn't exist." In December of last year, he said that he "registered for the purpose of cheating" on the tutor introduction site, and it seems that he had carefully prepared. A female university student said that she tried to enter a different university, but said, "My grades didn't improve, and I was frustrated." It's despicable if you try to cover up your own incompetence in an unfair way. The Common Test for University Entrance is jointly administered by national, public and private universities, and is a test that determines the degree of achievement of basic learning up to high school for those who wish to enter university. It must be guaranteed as a place where examinees can demonstrate their abilities in a fair and equitable manner. I would like the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology to clarify the full extent of this issue and work to prevent fraud in order to protect the fairness of the entrance examination. ■　■Use electronic devices to communicate with the outside and cheat. You could call it a blind spot in the digital society. In 2011, there was an incident in which a male preparatory school student used his mobile phone to post test questions on a question-and-answer site for the Kyoto University entrance examination, which shocked society. After the incident, measures were strengthened to place electronic devices on the desk before the exam, turn off the power, and put them away, but this time the problem occurred again. Devices worn on the body, such as camera-equipped wristwatches and eyeglasses, have also appeared, making it more difficult to detect fraud. The "digital native" generation, who have been familiar with smartphones since they can remember, are also good at using them. There is also a method of installing a device that blocks radio waves such as mobile phones, but there are more than 600 common test venues nationwide, and it is not easy in terms of cost. ■　■　In addition to the secondary exams for national and public universities, there are also high school and junior high school entrance exams, so the exam season is in full swing. In order to prevent the same problem from happening again, I would like each test center to take measures to prevent cheating, such as thoroughly checking electronic communication devices. On top of that, new measures are required to respond to the digital society. Electronic communication equipment is evolving day by day. It is necessary to have discussions involving experts who are familiar with information technology. I would like the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and universities to concentrate their wisdom on this.