Fewer cheating cases have been reported in this year's national college entrance exam (CEE), the Ministry of Education said Tuesday.

Wang Xuming said 2,645 people out of 10.38 million examinees were found cheating this year, down about 800 over last year.

"The proportion has reached the lowest point for 10 years," he said.

According to Wang, several government departments have joined hands to combat exam cheating this year, such as tightening checks of student's identity, strengthening patrolling around exam rooms to prevent people from using radio transmitters and receivers.

Statistics showed that by June 16, 34 group cheating cases were handled by local governments and 195 people were caught, including people selling cheating devices, and college students taking the exam for others. The examination, known as gao kao, is the largest examination in the world.

(Xinhua News Agency June 18, 2008)