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Amidst student protests against the decision by the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) —the country's largest university—to implement an in-person exam to review its controversial virtual admission process, which raised doubts regarding the use of artificial intelligence to complete answers, the institution reported that it will announce the dates and locations for the new test on Tuesday.
The controversy escalated in recent weeks after the entirely virtual admission exam yielded unusually high scores and reports emerged regarding possible outside assistance, identity theft, and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools by some applicants.
In a statement issued this Monday, the public institution noted that the rector, Leonardo Lomelí, "requested that tomorrow, Tuesday, August 4, the information regarding the dates and locations of the control exam be published and disseminated through official UNAM media, specifying the procedure by which each applicant will be summoned."
The new evaluation will reach approximately 58,000 people, nearly a third of the 158,712 applicants who took the original test, and will be administered to those selected from the online test, as well as to rejected applicants who achieved a score similar to or higher than those required between 2021 and 2025.
The text noted that after a meeting with directors of UNAM faculties and schools, Lomelí agreed that the start of undergraduate classes for first-year students of the 2026-2027/1 cycle will be Monday, August 31, 2026.
For this purpose, it was recommended to enable locations outside the city for the in-person application of the control exam, in addition to the location in Mexico City.
For their part, the resumption of classes for students already pursuing undergraduate studies was agreed to be next Monday, August 17, 2026.
This Monday, dozens of students demonstrated against the administration of the new in-person exam. The protesters gathered in front of the UNAM rectory, from where they marched toward Insurgentes Avenue in Mexico City.
The protest comes after the UNAM announced on July 31 that a group of applicants with scores considered atypical must retake the admission exam as part of a review of the selection process, with the argument of guaranteeing the certainty and fairness of the admission contest.
Last Saturday, the President of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, offered a free spot at the Rosario Castellanos National University (UNRC) to those who do not manage to enter the UNAM after the in-person control exam with which the institution will review its controversial first online admission process.
The higher education institution itself had used AI as a support to monitor the exam, along with human supervision, and cancelled about 2% of the tests due to conduct contrary to its regulations.
The UNAM also filed a criminal complaint on July 3 against individuals and companies that, according to the institution, sold fraudulent services to take the test.
[Publicidad]