The June bac exams are coming and with them the traditional legends of the exam. One of them insists on whether or not she can pass her driving license despite proven cheating at the baccalaureate.
“On the exam, we only have our eyes to cry!” Says journalist Philippe Duport, quoting Franceinfo’s microphone Valérie Piau, a lawyer specializing in education. So before racking your brains to find the miracle way to cheat, you have to take care to know the risks of the game.
Already, cheating at the baccalaureate is a fraud in the eyes of the law. Sanctions are often disciplinary, but can also be criminal if your cheating is qualified as an offence.
In the event of flagrante delicto, the supervisor writes a report to describe the facts. Depending on the case, the examiner deprives you of the object of the fraud as well. You can continue your test unless you are replaced by another person or if you disrupt the exam.
The rector of your academy can then sanction you with a reprimand or a deprivation of any mention in the diploma. “In the end, it is on average 75% of the candidates implicated who are sanctioned”, according to Vincent Goudet, former director of the Interacademic Service for Examinations and Competitions interviewed by Le Monde. “But when the commission is absolutely convinced of the fraud, the sanction is systematic.”
If the academic disciplinary committee is seized, things get tough. A broader panel of sanctions appears. Reprimand and deprivation of mention are always possible, but also: the prohibition to participate in any examination of the National Education and to enroll in a public institution of higher education for a maximum of 5 years.
But the examination of the driver’s license is quite possible in the event of cheating at the baccalaureate. This school legend comes from a lack of knowledge of the rules and confusion before the ban on taking any exam, but only those managed by the Ministry of National Education.
Of course, the test where you were burned gives you a nice zero in the report card and your entire bac can be marked that way. If you outdo yourself by cheating, the criminal avenues are open to you: you risk up to 9,000 euros in fines and three years in prison. This also applies to your possible accomplice. The sanctions are also retroactive: if your cheating is proven after obtaining the baccalaureate, the diploma may well be withdrawn.
