Nearly 60,000 UNAM applicants must retake entrance exam following AI cheating fiasco

Nearly 60,000 applicants to Mexico's National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) must retake their in-person entrance exam following a cheating scandal surrounding the online exams. The integrity of the first exams, held for the first time ever online, was compromised by alleged use of artificial intelligence and other cheating methods.

A team of experts in education, AI, and law, appointed by UNAM rector Leonardo Lomelí Vanegas, recommended holding new in-person exams. UNAM complied with the recommendation and outlined the procedure for applicants to participate in the second, in-person exam as part of the selection process for the 2026/2027 academic year. Around 58,000 out of the initial 158,000 test-takers are expected to qualify for the second exam, which will take place between Aug.

12 and 19 at various locations across Mexico, including León, Oaxaca, Tijuana, and Mexico City. Many test-takers allegedly cheated by using AI and other methods, evading detection despite the software provided by the Mexican company Territorium Life, which included features designed to prevent cheating. A small number of students have applied for injunctions against the nullification of their first exam results, but as of 2 p.m. on Wednesday, these requests had not been granted.