Lapinlahti student banned from next autumn’s matriculation exams after cheating

A student caught cheating in Finland’s national matriculation exams in Lapinlahti has been barred from participating in the next round of tests, the municipality’s education board decided on Monday evening.

The Lapinlahti Education Committee ruled that the student, who was found to have cheated in both the autumn 2025 and spring 2026 exams, will lose the right to take the tests next autumn. The case is considered exceptional due to the repeated offences, which were detected by exam invigilators.

The student’s results from both exam periods have been invalidated. They will next be eligible to sit the matriculation exams in spring 2027, if they choose to do so.

Tiina Tähkä, Secretary General of the Finnish Matriculation Examination Board, noted that around 20 students are caught cheating in the national exams each year. She added that invigilation guidelines were updated this spring, with further clarifications planned for autumn 2026 to help supervisors detect misconduct.

Tähkä observed that cheating is often a desperate attempt by students to pass the exams. The number of invigilators varies depending on the number of test-takers, with a minimum of four supervisors required for 80 students, according to the board’s guidelines.