The Liangzhou District government in Weiwu City, Gansu Province, hired 18 pupils to proctor an examination for selecting the staff of local public security organs, procuratorial organs and courts on July 26. The result was quite unexpected: the pupils caught 25 people cheating during the exam, Lanzhou Morning Post reported on July 30.

The purpose of the exam is to give police and legal staff the chance to compete for section and vice section chief positions. Among the positional categories of scout, judge and procurator, a total of 24 section chief positions and 42 vice section chief positions were available.

There were 256 candidates who attended the exam last Sunday. In order to make it a fair play, the local government hired pupils from Heping Street Primary School, teachers from Weiwu No.6 Middle School, as well as officials from the District Discipline Inspection Commission and Organization Department to proctor the exam.

According to an official of the Liangzhou District Organization Department, the exam lasted for two hours and had a total of 120 scores. The department held a special meeting to make the rules clear to the proctors and organize the pupils to allocate the exam sites by drawing lots.

The pupils carried out their duties very seriously and responsibly, said the official, adding "All of the 25 cheaters would be disqualified."

The pupil proctors have become a hot topic in Weiwu City.

Weiwei (alias), one of the young proctors, said: "I didn't think too much. I just wanted to fulfill the task given to me by my teacher, follow the rules and be an honest child."

Mr. Gao, an official who has worked as the proctor for several years, told Lanzhou Morning Post that it was actually very easy for the adult proctors to distinguish the cheaters just by looking down from the platform. " Honest examinees would concentrate on their answer sheets, while cheaters would gaze around nervously. However, adult proctors had other concerns when they were put in charge of it: If they were too strict, they were afraid of offending someone; if they were not strict enough, they could lose their jobs for negligence of duty. So they chose the middle way: Turning a blind eye on the cheaters."

Teacher Zhou from the Liangzhou District educational department said that the pupils tended to do things based on their idealistic values, while the adults could hardly act in the same way.

A lot of people think this move is sure to generate a positive effect and help form a healthier work style in the Liangzhou District.

(China.org.cn by Ren Zhongxi, July 31, 2009)