Cambridge International Education (CIE) is a prestigious education system in the world. CIE claims that its assessments give students focus, motivation, and a challenge to better prepare them for higher studies and eventually professional life. However, CIE’s paper leaks almost every year for over a decade in many countries, including Pakistan has become a norm. So do its official statements. This year, when around 25,000 students across Pakistan had appeared in the AS Level Mathematics (9709/12) examination, it was officially announced several hours later that the question paper had been available before the examination. Adding to the crisis, there have also been reports of leaks involving the AS Level Business Studies question paper and some questions of Computer Sciences paper. Indeed, this caused frustration, anger, and distrust among students and parents.
We circulated a survey among parents and students regarding their perceptions of the paper leak gate. We have also analyzed official statements of CIE for 2025 and 2026 to learn how seriously and efficiently the board has been responding to this chronic issue.
The official statements released after the 2025 and 2026 paper leaks hinge on nearly identical institutional rhetoric. Interestingly, both statements foreground “fairness”, “integrity”, “reliable grades”, and “confidence in the system”, while backgrounding deeper accountability for repeated breaches in examination security.
The official statements released after the 2025 and 2026 paper leaks hinge on nearly identical institutional rhetoric. Interestingly, both statements foreground “fairness”, “integrity”, “reliable grades”, and “confidence in the system”, while backgrounding deeper accountability for repeated breaches in examination security.
In 2025, CIE claimed, “Built on more than a century of experience, the administration of Cambridge exams is tightly controlled, especially in respect of question paper security”. The board described paper leaks as “very rare” incidents and assured students that robust measures were in place to ensure fair grading. In 2026, the board once again emphasised its “150 years” of assessment experience and reassured candidates that the integrity of the examination system remained intact despite another major paper leak. The language used by CIE suggests that the board has become more experienced in managing the optics of the crisis than in addressing the causes behind it.
The repetition of phrases such as “fair and reliable grades”, “malpractice of a few”, and “trusted qualification” attempts to isolate the problem and responsibility to a handful of dishonest actors. Unfortunately, we neither CIE know who these evil genius actors are. Whereas students and parents increasingly view the leaks as evidence of the board’s failure. Perhaps CIE is not ready to accept this failure and issue its apology to parents who have spent their lifetime saving to provide a Cambridge education for their children.
Parents’ responses to the survey reveal an increasingly deepening mistrust over the years. One parent stated that the examination system has become a “big question mark” and warned that repeated leaks would ultimately destroy the board’s credibility. Another parent questioned why students should suffer psychologically and academically when “it is actually the board that is at fault.” Parents are asking why this leak keeps happening despite repeated assurances.
Parents’ responses also reveal frustration with the communicative behaviour of the board itself. One respondent criticised CIE for delaying its official response after the mathematics paper leak and argued that another question paper reportedly leaked during the period of institutional silence. Another parent observed that Cambridge regurgitates “the same statement” every year while never explaining how the leaks occur in the first place and who the culprits are. Moreover, students’ responses intensify this picture further. Their language reflects anxiety, demotivation, uncertainty, and unequal opportunity. One student described the leaks as a “constant distraction” that disrupted focus and reduced motivation because “hard work might not be fairly rewarded.” Another student questioned whether exam results would genuinely reflect effort.
Students also repeatedly expressed Cambridge’s post-paper leak responses as symbolic and historically disconnected. One respondent remarked that the board seemed to tell students to “carry on as normal” without addressing what they were actually experiencing. This statement captures the widening communicative gap between institutional communication and lived experience.
The 2026 statement unintentionally reveals this contradiction most clearly. Cambridge admitted that the question paper content was available before the scheduled examination date and announced a replacement paper on 9 June. Yet nowhere does the statement clearly explain what structural reforms were implemented after the 2025 controversy to prevent recurrence. The board promises investigations after the leak instead of guarantees before the leak. This implies that CIE lacks confidence in its own examination system. What is needed now is structural reforms. The board must transparently explain how leaks occur, what vulnerabilities exist in the examination chain, and what preventive mechanisms are being implemented differently from previous years. Independent investigations should identify culprits and evaluate whether the entire security architecture requires redesign. Communication with students and parents must become immediate, transparent, and empathetic rather than procedural. In so doing, the board can also curtail the misinformation and disinformation so rampant on social media regarding the ongoing examination process.
Most importantly, students should not bear the psychological burden of CIE’s failures. Honest candidates spend months preparing under intense academic pressure. When paper leaks repeatedly occur, it is CIE’s integrity that suffers, including students’ and parents’ faith in fairness itself.
CIE’s official discourse still attempts to preserve the image of a long-standing history of excellence. However, students and parents tell a different story, covering uncertainty, frustration, emotional fatigue, and declining trust.
Is CIE’s legacy of excellence preventing it from fully accepting responsibility for its failures? Understandably, even the best systems face crises. However, unless CIE fully acknowledges its failures, it may remain unable to reform its examination system. Until then, the likelihood of paper leaks may continue to increase in the coming years, including during ongoing examinations.
The first author is a Professor of English at Riphah International University, Lahore. He is a lead guest editor at Emerald and Springer publishing. The second author is an Assistant Professor of English at Govt. Graduate College for Women, Samanabad, Lahore