KEY POINTS:
Cellphone jamming technology may be used to cut cheating in high school exams as mobile phones emerge as one of the biggest problems for officials.
Last year 56 candidates were discovered with cellphones turned on in exams.
At Auckland Grammar candidates were censured in seven incidents and two
more candidates at the decile 10 school in Epsom were let off with a warning.
A Qualifications Authority spokesman said technology to jam the signal could be considered if it was practical but it was unlikely to be introduced this year. He said all exams had large signs advising of the cellphone ban.
The University of Auckland introduced electronic mobile phone detectors to exam rooms in 2004.
Auckland Grammar head John Morris said the students were not using the cellphones to cheat but some had results withheld because they did the wrong thing.
He blamed it on absent-mindedness and exam pressure.
"Cellphones these days seem to be connected to their bodies and they just walk in with them without even thinking despite the fact that they are warned on several occasions," said Mr Morris.
"There's no excuse because they shouldn't take them in." The school had the most number of candidates of any Auckland school investigated for alleged exam rule breaches last year and cellphones were the biggest problem.
Mr Morris said its size and the subjectivity in the incidents exam officials reported contributed to the figure.
The NZQA released the school-by-school details of cheating allegations after an appeal by a Sunday newspaper to the Ombudsman.
It had previously refused to name the schools where investigated students sat tests, citing privacy.
The newly public figures showed that of 336 breaches of the examination rules investigated in 2006, more than 130 were in Auckland.
The investigations occurred at 44 "exam centres" - as the NZQA dubs schools hosting exams - across the region.
The investigations were listed as either "proven", meaning the candidate had some or all results withheld, or "resolved", meaning an alternative action, such as a warning letter, was taken.
Of the Auckland investigations, more than 60 were proven.
Henderson High School had a relatively high number of investigations, including four incidents that were proven, mainly for candidates communicating in exams.
At Howick College, candidates in four incidents had results withheld to some extent, including one for cheating.
Lynfield College had three incidents in which a candidate brought notes to the exam.
The number of investigations into male candidates in Auckland was almost double the number into female candidates.
