The British Council said what about the scandal over cheating candidates that forced the IELTS test to be changed at the last minute?

Recently, many IELTS test preparation groups and forums have been buzzing about the fact that in the paper-based IELTS test taking place on February 22, the test questions for all three skills, Listening, Reading, and Writing, were drawn from the "red envelope" (reserve questions) instead of the "green envelope" (official test questions).

Some shared that the reason the exam questions across the country had to be changed was because the questions were leaked, there were candidates cheating, buying the questions and copying the answers into the exam room. Therefore, the official questions were canceled and had to be replaced with backup questions to ensure security procedures.

In response to this information, the British Council - the co-owner of the IELTS exam - said that strict regulations on exam questions are always applied to protect the rights of candidates.

In some cases, contingency plans are put in place to ensure the examination process is safe and transparent. The implementation of these plans is regulated by Cambridge Assessment and all examination organisers must comply.

According to the British Council, recently, this unit and other IELTS test co-owners have recorded a large number of violations (such as buying and selling test papers and answers) advertised online and directly to candidates.

“We hope that candidates will always be vigilant when receiving this information. The IELTS exam is strictly confidential through many stages before, during and after the exam to ensure accuracy and reliability. Ensuring the safety and security of the IELTS exam is carried out consistently with a zero-tolerance policy for any cheating behavior by candidates,” said a representative of the British Council.

Accordingly, serious cheating cases may have their exam results canceled, be banned from taking the exam for 5 years, and be denied review within the prescribed period by organizations that recognize IELTS certificates globally.

The IELTS test on February 22 is one of the last tests that candidates can take on paper. After March 29, IELTS in Vietnam will switch completely to computer-based testing. Candidates can register for the test just 1-2 days before the test and take the test on any day of the week. Candidates will receive the results within about 2 days.

The difference in the exam questions between the two formats is that all candidates taking the paper-based exam will do the same questions in the three skills of Listening - Reading - Writing, while each candidate taking the computer-based exam will do a different question randomly selected by the system from the exam bank.

The British Council also said that in recent years, it has recorded an increase in the number of IELTS test takers in Vietnam, especially among students who want to apply for university or study abroad.