Nearly 700,000 candidates are expected to pass their baccalaureate this year. The first philo event starts on Thursday, June 15th. In order to deter potential cheaters, the Ministry of Education is tracking mobile phones and connected watches. During the events, they must remain extinct. Some examination centers will even be equipped with detectors. Beware of fraud, it can be expensive!
Can I keep my mobile phone jammer for the time?
Of course not! All laptops, smartphones, but also connected watches, are prohibited in the examination room. If, like the majority of candidates, you have your cell phone with you on D-Day, it will have to stay in the back of your bag and be turned off as soon as you enter the examination room.
Some establishments now have phone detectors to check compliance with this rule. To read the time, it will be better to choose a good old watch.
Will the phone detectors be deployed everywhere?
The answer is no. “All the academies are equipped with cell phone detectors, the number and location of which are confidential,” says the ministry. But the rectors distribute these devices randomly and make sure they are circulated between the examination centers throughout the tests. The administration, however, remains silent about their numbers, obviously trying to play the card of deterrence to the fullest …
Because last yer, more than 270 cases of fraud involving electronic devices (phones, MP3 players, etc.) were detected. Almost one in three fraud cases involved the use of “new technologies”. While being stable compared to 2015 (31.74% against 31.87%), this type of cheating comes at the top of the ranking achieved by the Ministry of Education, in front of the traditional “cheats” in particular.
Is a mobile phone still detectable?
Not at all. When it is in “airplane” mode or when it is off, a phone is undetectable. Just before turning off, the device will make a last signal to signal its position to the network. But then it will be totally invisible for a wave detector.
And when is it turned on?
Either the device is in “sleep” mode and it intermittently emits signals to indicate its position to the network, or it is in communication – and transmits voice or data – and there it transmits continuously. In both cases, it is possible to detect its presence. On the other hand, it is difficult to estimate how far it is, explains the websites specialized in telecommunications.
Because the power of a mobile phone depends on the distance between the device and a relay antenna. The closer the unit is to the antenna, the less the signal is strong. If we therefore consider two classes with, in each of them, a pupil with a laptop, the signal picked up by the detector will depend on the distance between the examination room and the relay antenna. He may be very weak in one case, strong in the other.