Dublin cheats raise hackles of students

LAW students at King's Inns in Dublin have protested over what they feel is the too lenient treatment accorded five future barristers caught cheating in their Bar exams.

A lengthy investigation into the cheating - discovered as a result of a major increase in exam security - was conducted by a team of senior judges and members of the Irish Bar Council.

The students had been found with typed and hand-written notes while sitting their exams. One had an estimated 18 pages of notes reduced to a single sheet by photocopier.

The five accused have now been prevented from resitting their exams in the autumn.

They have not been identified, which has added to the anger of the students, who claim everyone will now be under suspicion of cheating.

Some of the students who are repeating their exams in the autumn have insisted the Bar Council provides them with letters certifying that they were not involved in the incident.

One student said: "The punishment raises a question over the standards expected as you climb the professional ladder."

He said most students wanted the cheats to be thrown out of the Inns, where the fees are £1,500 a year.

In the exams there were claims that at least one student had been falsely accused and removed from the hall while the answers were checked.