China has jailed eight parents and teachers after uncovering elaborate schemes to help students pass the college entrance exams, tests which often determine the socioeconomic fate of young people and their future dependents in China today. From The Guardian:
Eight parents and teachers have been jailed on state secret charges after using hi-tech communication devices to help pupils cheat in college entrance exams, Chinese media reported today.
The conspirators used scanners and wireless earpieces to transmit exam answers, indicating the lengths to which people go to ensure success in the make-or-break “gaokao”, which determines the future of 10 million 18-year-olds each year.
[…]The two-day exams are key to social mobility in China, and determine whether teenagers will enter university and which institution they can attend. Success or failure can shape their lives, and those of their families, who may depend on their future earnings.