Old, familiar stain

Regarding “Barefaced cheating in China’s bull market for student fraud” (News, 13 June): this phenomenon is not new, as I found similar problems in the early 1990s when I was an academic. The easiest way to spot a cheat is to start a discussion with the suspect, provided you have the requisite expertise in the topic. One will soon find that the culprit will trip themselves up with incoherent and bemusing answers. Unfortunately, far too many Western universities are turning a blind eye to the situation and are putting money before education, thus undermining the quality of degrees.

John Kelmar
Via timeshighereducation.co.uk