NEW TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The Yumin Elementary School (裕民國小) in New Taipei City (新北市) is under scrutiny after allegations of exam plagiarism arose, leading to a retake for approximately 310 students. Principal Huang Rong-tai (黃榮泰) confirmed on Monday (Jan. 13) that the teacher responsible will face disciplinary action. The controversy erupted when parents reported that the fourth-grade Mandarin final exam bore a striking resemblance to last year's test.
The issue came to light after students noticed that their exam questions closely mirrored practice tests from their after-school programs. Upon investigation, the school found that about 80% of the questions were duplicated, compromising the exam's integrity. Consequently, a retest was administered on Monday morning, with the new scores set to replace the original ones. The school also plans to offer make-up exams for absent students.
Principal Huang explained that the school has mechanisms to review exams and strictly prohibits plagiarism. He acknowledged that the teacher, a senior staff member, excessively relied on last year's questions as a reference. The teacher will be referred to the faculty review committee for disciplinary action. Huang admitted that the current review system requires improvements to prevent such incidents in the future.
New Taipei City Education Department Section Chief Lin Yi-cheng (林奕成) stated that the exam violated fairness standards, necessitating the retest. The department has instructed the school to conduct a thorough investigation and hold those accountable to ensure the protection of students' learning rights.
