Turkey forces 58,000 retakes

Mexico’s National Autonomous University, or UNAM, has ordered roughly 58,000 applicants to retake its undergraduate entrance exam in person after its first fully remote admissions test produced results the university said were too irregular to trust. The decision followed weeks of protests, public complaints and a technical review of the 2026 exam cycle. Students had challenged the use of AI-based monitoring and remote proctoring after unusually high scores raised suspicions of widespread cheating. The case has become an early test of how universities respond when automated exam controls fail at scale. ### Which university is actually at the center of this case? UNAM, not a Turkish university, is at the center of the 58,000-retake case. Gizmodo’s August 5 report identified the school as the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Mexico’s largest public university, and described the disputed test as UNAM’s annual entrance exam. EL PAÍS reported on July 30 that the admissions process had been paused after the online, remote exam generated unusually strong results. (gaceta.unam.mx) Nearly 160,000 applicants sat for the 2026 exam, according to Gizmodo and follow-up coverage summarized in other outlets. UNAM had moved the undergraduate admissions exam fully online for the first time this year, using a locked browser and AI-assisted webcam monitoring. (gizmodo.com) ### What convinced UNAM that the results could not stand? UNAM’s technical commission said the upper end of the score distribution changed sharply. A recommendation document published in Gaceta UNAM said that from 2021 to 2025, 3.5% of applicants scored 100 or more correct answers, compared with 16.3% in 2026. The share scoring 110 or more rose from about 0.9% in prior years to 5.5% in 2026. (gizmodo.com) The commission recommended an in-person “control exam” to verify results. Gaceta UNAM said Rector Leonardo Lomelí Vanegas received that recommendation as part of a broader review meant to preserve objectivity, impartiality and fairness in the admissions process. ### Who has to retake the exam? (gaceta.unam.mx) UNAM said the new in-person exam applies to selected applicants and to candidates whose scores met or exceeded the minimum score used to enter the same program, campus and study mode in any admission cycle from 2021 through 2026. EL PAÍS reported on August 5 that the university had published tables so applicants could check whether they fell into that group. (gaceta.unam.mx) The figure of about 58,000 affected applicants comes from coverage of the university’s decision after the commission review. Gizmodo and other reports described the retake as mandatory for that group, with the in-person result overriding the original remote score. (elpais.com) ### What was the complaint about AI monitoring? Gizmodo reported that protesters at UNAM’s Mexico City campus chanted, “We demand honesty, not artificial intelligence,” as anger grew over the remote system. The exam used Respondus LockDown Browser and AI-powered proctoring software from Territorium, according to Gizmodo’s account. (gizmodo.com) EL PAÍS reported in late July that students were demanding certainty from the university as officials reviewed whether the exam would need to be rerun. The dispute centered less on one documented software glitch than on whether the remote system, including AI monitoring, had failed to prevent cheating while still exposing legitimate candidates to uncertainty. (gizmodo.com) ### Why is this being discussed alongside Denmark? Denmark’s government announced on August 6 that upper secondary students who write major assignments at home will have to defend them orally, and schools will be required to use monitoring tools during written exams. Education Minister Magnus Heunicke said, “Unfortunately, we have a problem with AI cheating in upper secondary schools” and that “action is needed now.” (elpais.com) The two cases are different. Denmark is tightening anti-cheating rules before an exam scandal of this scale emerges, while UNAM is trying to repair an admissions process after the fact. But both show schools moving toward more direct verification of student work, including oral checks, controlled conditions and closer supervision. That comparison is an inference from the two sets of measures. (aol.co.uk) ### What happens next for applicants? UNAM’s admissions portal now includes a section labeled “Examen de Control 2026,” along with cutoff tables and applicant instructions. The university’s published materials say the control exam is part of the 2026-2027 undergraduate admissions cycle, and affected candidates are being directed through the DGAE admissions site for next steps. (aol.co.uk) (dgae.unam.mx)