Pupils are assigned to rooms to proctor an exam for municipal officials in Liangzhou District, Wuwei City of west China's Gansu Province, on July 26, 2009. [Photo: Lanzhou Morning Post]

Eighteen primary school students, who were invited to supervise an exam for municipal officials on Sunday in Liangzhou District of West China's Gansu Province, discovered 25 had cheated.

According to the Lanzhou Morning Post, 265 applicants took an exam for police officials, judges and prosecutors in Liangzhou District, Wuwei City. The exam organizer selected not only officials and school teachers to proctor the closed-book test, but also 18 local school children.

An official in the organization department of the district party committee said those found cheating would be disqualified from the exam and have their test scores annulled.

The newspaper said most of the general public indicated that the unconventional exam supervision would have positive effects.

Wei Wei, one of the 18 school children who proctored the exam, told a reporter at the Lanzhou Morning Post that she wanted to carry out a teacher's duty during the exam and try to be an honest test supervisor as the exam organizer required.

An experienced proctor surnamed Gao said that actually it was quite easy for adult exam supervisors to discover cheating from the examinees' restless movements. However, many of them chose to turn a blind eye to the cheaters for fear of possible retaliation.