Legal Action Over Alleged ChatGPT Use in Belgian Medical Entrance Exam
Students taking a medical entrance exam in Flanders allegedly used ChatGPT to cheat, leading to an unusually high 47% pass rate. At least five students have filed legal action seeking an investigation, with a civil court to decide on Friday whether to order the exam commission to investigate or designate an expert.
What happened
On 3 and 4 July, 5,544 students took the medical entrance exam in Flanders organised by AHOVOKS. Several students alleged that some participants used ChatGPT to answer exam questions, with the pass rate reaching an exceptionally high 47% compared to previous years.
At least five students appealed to the exam commission requesting an investigation into alleged large-scale AI-assisted fraud. When the commission declined to investigate, the students sought legal action in civil court to compel either an expert investigation or an investigation by the commission itself.
Reported impact
Students who filed the legal action contend that alleged cheating affects the validity of their rankings and eligibility for university medical programmes. An investigation could determine which websites were accessed and by whom, potentially removing cheaters from the rankings and creating a new list for legitimate candidates.
Index analysis
The unusually high 47% pass rate raised concerns among legitimate candidates. If fraud were confirmed and all computers analysed, the exam could be declared void and rescheduled, or alternatively, random computer audits could be conducted to detect cheating.
Governance controls
AHOVOKS stated it was investigating complaints and denied refusing to look into fraud cases. The civil court was scheduled to decide on Friday regarding the students' complaint and whether to order the exam commission to conduct the investigation itself.
Classification
Sources and evidence
This record was researched and written by the Index, based on the following original reporting.