Ai Is The Holy Grail For Minimising Examination Leakages

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YEAR in and year out recurring accusations of examination paper leaks in Malaysia is becoming a phenomena. This may be attributed to several systemic and cultural issues within the education ecosystem. Accusation and denial are becoming mantras every year.
Possible trajectories of leakage and apathy
The high-stakes nature of examinations, the pressure to succeed in public exams like the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM), Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) and others determine students’ academic and career paths.
This high-stakes environment creates immense pressure on students, parents, and educators, leading to unethical practices.
The education system in Malaysia is highly intense and competitive especially when it comes to examinations, pushing some individuals to resort to leaks as a shortcut to ensure success.
The systemic weaknesses and the lack of secured processes concerning examination papers may not be handled with the necessary level of security. Instances of poor digital encryption, physical storage vulnerabilities, or mishandling by personnel make leaks possible.
The human factor where individuals in the chain of custody – teachers, examiners, or printing staff – may exploit their access to profit or help others.
The large-scale logistics, massive scale of national exams involving thousands of schools increases the complexity and risk of leaks.
There could be a syndicate behind with profit-motive and corruption with monetary incentive which may leaked papers that can be sold for substantial amounts of money, creating a black market for such materials.
The lack of oversight and corruption or complacency among officials responsible for safeguarding examination materials can facilitate leaks.
The lack of trust in the system, a perception of inequality feeling the education system favours certain groups, leading to mistrust and unethical attempts to gain an advantage.
The historical incidents in past cases of confirmed leaks have led to a culture of suspicion, where even minor irregularities are perceived as deliberate leaks.
Social and cultural factors where parental pressure often have high expectations for academic success, which can inadvertently encourage unethical behaviour to secure good results.
The cultural attitudes toward cheating in some cases, exploiting loopholes might be normalised or overlooked as long as results are achieved.
The media does nothing but amplify sensationalism reporting of alleged leaks are often amplified by media outlets, whether confirmed or not, leading to a perception that leaks are widespread.
Further social media accusations of leaks often spread rapidly on platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, or Twitter, even if unverified.
In the past weak enforcement and ineffective punishment of those caught leaking or using leaked papers might not face stringent consequences, creating a sense of impunity.
The lack of transparency leads to the erosion of public confidence when the authorities fail to communicate investigation outcomes effectively.
(Image: Getty Images)The role of AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) can play a significant role in preparing and securing disseminating examination papers to minimise or eliminate leakage can be leveraged.
The securing of question generation and randomised questions of AI can generate diverse sets of questions dynamically based on predefined syllabi, reducing predictability and dependency on pre-set papers.
The adaptive algorithms with AI can create unique questions for each student by adapting the difficulty level based on the syllabus, ensuring fairness while minimising the chances of leaks.
This will secure encrypted distribution thus AI systems can encrypt examination papers using advanced cryptographic techniques.
Only authorised personnel with specific decryption keys can access them. This controlled access of AI can ensure that examination papers are distributed through secure platforms, monitoring and logging access to detect any anomalies.
In terms of monitoring and surveillance of anomaly detection, AI can monitor emails, print logs or conduct file-sharing activities within the examination body to detect unauthorised access or suspicious activities.
This will lead to digital watermarking papers with unique, invisible identifiers traceable to individuals who access or print the documents.
Meanwhile, AI-driven proctoring during examinations allows AI to monitor the process using cameras and microphones to ensure compliance and detect potential cheating.
The dynamic questions can generate real-time variations of questions during online exams, making it difficult for leaks to benefit students.
If in case a post-leak investigation does occur, AI can quickly analyse digital footprints to identify sources and culprits, providing a robust mechanism for accountability.
Challenges with AI
The implementation costs of setting up an AI system for secure exam preparation and distribution requires significant investment.
There is always human oversight while AI minimises risks, human involvement might still pose vulnerabilities.
Data privacy must be carefully handled especially student data and examination content which is essential to maintain trust and compliance with privacy laws.
With the implementation of a comprehensive AI-driven solution, Malaysia can significantly reduce the risks of examination paper leaks and enhance the integrity of its education system.
The political will and the cost of implementing will decide future examination leakage. 
KT Maran is a FocusM viewer.
The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT.
- Focus Malaysia.

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