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Dozens of students demonstrated this Monday against the National Autonomous University of Mexico's (UNAM) decision to implement a mandatory in-person control exam, following allegations regarding the suspected use of artificial intelligence (AI) during the entrance test.
The protests were centered in front of the UNAM Rectory, from where they marched toward Insurgentes Avenue in Mexico City.
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Among their main demands is the establishment of a dialogue table with the institution, as well as transparency regarding the criteria used to determine which students must take an in-person control exam.
During the mobilization, protesters chanted slogans such as “I deserve my spot,” “A selected applicant will not be mocked,” and “Fraud.”
“Don’t blame the selected applicants, blame those in charge,” read one of the signs during the mobilization.
Daniel Oficial, a student selected for the Law program, emphasized that his opposition is directed at the process, which has caused strain and uncertainty due to platform failures, as claimed by several applicants.
“We are not refusing to take any exam; it’s simply that this exam should have been done before UNAM released the results. It cannot be done one week before the school year begins,” he stated into a megaphone.
The protest follows UNAM's announcement 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 justification of ensuring the certainty and fairness of the entrance competition.
The results of the admission process had been published on July 17, when 21,962 applicants were admitted via exam, while 28,151 obtained a spot through regulated automatic entry, for a total of 50,113 new students.
Following the publication of the results, allegations began to spread on social media regarding the suspected use of AI and other irregularities during the admission exam, the first to be administered entirely online.
In response, UNAM temporarily suspended new student enrollment and determined that a group of applicants would be required to retake the evaluation.
So far, the university has not announced the date when the new exam will be administered or the number of applicants who will be summoned.
The controversy has also given rise to other groups of dissatisfied applicants. Some report alleged failures in the exam platform, while others claim their test was cancelled without them knowing their score or having the possibility to retake it.
Michelle Atristain, whose entrance exam for Architecture was cancelled, called on the institution to punish those who cheated using AI, some of whom allegedly posted about it on social media.
“Let there be justice for those of us who were cancelled, let us be considered for the control exam, and let UNAM truly use its techniques to figure out who cheated and who did not,” expressed Atristain.
[Publicidad]