Examination Regulations

 Conduct of the Examination

(i) At least one invigilator must always be present in every examination room.  Candidates must never be left without an invigilator, even for short periods, while question papers or scripts are in the examination room.

(ii) Candidates must not be allowed to walk about the examination room.  The invigilator must take special pains to maintain order and discipline, and to prevent copying and collusion.  He should not attempt answering questions as this may distract his attention on invigilation.

(iii) The invigilator must not explain the questions set; however, he may draw the attention of candidates to any error he observes in any of the question papers.  The Chief Invigilator must then inform the Director, Examinations Administration and Certification in writing of such errors and the action taken.

(iv) No unauthorised person may be admitted to the room where an examination is in progress.  This includes subject teachers who are not invigilating the examination.

(v) No copy of a question paper may be removed from an examination room, nor may any unauthorised person read a question paper, until the invigilator has collected all scripts.  Question papers must be kept under strict security conditions for 24 hours before distributing to subject teachers.  A subject teacher may ask to quickly browse through the question paper after the scripts have been collected.  They should then give it back to the Chief Invigilator until 24 hours has elapsed.

(vi)       Chief Invigilators are responsible for ensuring that all private candidates produce passports or other approved identity cards, bearing the full name and photographs, at each session of the examination.  In addition private candidates must produce their individual Statements of Entry.  Chief Invigilators must be sure that the person writing the examination is in fact the candidate who entered for the examination.

(vii) Each envelope of question papers must normally be opened by the invigilator in the presence of the candidates; not more than ten minutes before the time set for the start of the examination.    However, where the number of candidates is large and several rooms are being used, the envelopes may be opened and the question papers counted into bundles and distributed to other Invigilators, not more than fifteen minutes before the time scheduled for the start of the examination in order that candidates in all rooms may start writing simultaneously.

(viii) The Timetable must be strictly adhered to.  Any departure from the prescribed dates or times will, as a rule, invalidate the examination.  The exact length of time allotted for each paper, as shown on the front cover of the question paper, and on the Timetable, must be allowed. If the time duration on the question paper differs from that shown on the Timetable, then the Timetable should be followed.  Should, for unavoidable reasons, any departure from the published Timetable appear necessary, the candidates involved should be isolated and the   Director, Examinations Administration and Certification contacted immediately.

(ix) Under normal conditions, no paper is to be given to any candidate who is more than half an hour late. Invigilators should, however, apply this rule with discretion and in particular to lessen as far as possible any hardships caused by e.g. transport delays or misunderstandings.  If, through late arrival, a candidate either loses a substantial amount of time, or is allowed to make up this lost time at the end of the period allotted to the paper, the matter must be reported to the Director, Examinations Administration and Certification.

(x) No candidate may leave the examination room before half the time allowed for that examination has elapsed.  Candidates leaving the examination room before the end of the examination must not be allowed to take the question papers with them.  If a candidate is obliged to leave the examination room temporarily for any personal reason, an invigilator must accompany him or a person of appropriate status authorised by an invigilator.  No extra time will be allowed for a routine trip to the toilet.

(xi) If the examination room has to be evacuated due to an emergency, the invigilator must take all possible measures to ensure the security of the examination and must submit to the Director, Examinations Administration and Certification a full report of the circumstances and action taken.

(xii) Invigilators should warn candidates, five minutes before the end of the examination that they have only five minutes left.

(xiii) At the end of the period allotted to a paper, the answer scripts or answer sheets must be collected up in order of candidate numbers with the smallest number on top.  They must be counted and discrepancies investigated before the envelopes are sealed.  This should be done in the presence of the candidates, the invigilators and the Chief Invigilator.  The sealed envelopes must be kept under lock and key until dispatched to the Director, Examinations Administration and Certification.  All unused answer booklets, answer sheets and rough paper must be collected up and stored in a secure place.  The rough paper should only be destroyed six weeks after the results are released.

 (xiv) No writing paper, either used or unused, may be taken out of the examination room by the candidates.

(xv) Neither the invigilator, nor anyone else, may read a candidate’s answer or make any alterations to it.