As someone who works in the education sector, cheating is taken as a very serious matter.

However, looking at it from a student point of view the pressure some students face especially in final 3rd year exams is immense. More should be done to help those who are feeling stressed. I work for a College and we have exam stress sessions, and when I was at university I was a trainer for the university and delivered exam / revision sessions, which were free.

I'ds also like to add a cultural note on this one. Many Chinese students are hard working, conscientious and studious when it comes to their studies. In Chinese culture much emphasis is placed on a student to do well, from families and society. Often this pressure to do well has consequences for individuals concerned.

As for police involvement, I can see that it could be classified as fraud, but shouldn't North Yorks police really be using taxpayer's money to do some proper police work?

C, West Midlands,

There should always be zero tolerance on cheating, however, one must question the logic of the University to involve the police, moreover, the police to haver charged and prosecuted them [which I failed to see how the public interest had been served]. In my view a classic example of police wasting tax payers money to boost its own performance target.

asc, london,

Well, if I were them, I would follow Prince Harry and ask the teacher to take the exam for me instead!

Rachel, London,

I am an ethnic Chinese of Malaysian nationality. I take cheating extremely seriously (could be a British legacy in the Malaysian education system), and can think of no Malaysian student in a UK university even considering throwing away thousands of pounds just for a piece of paper.

I can also tell you that to my amazement, Chinese National students were literally wasting their money, because cheating, plagiarism, copying, and paying people to complete their dissertations etc, is endemic.

I (well, my father) paid all that money for an education. They seem to think that they are paying all that money for a piece of paper.

Chee, Coventry,

I wasn't at all surprised when I saw their names: Cheating in exams is commonplace in China, often using these 'body doubles'. Chinese students in other countries are often shocked that, when they are caught, schools and universities actually take the matter very seriously. I have even heard - from my students - of teachers giving the questions or topics (depending on the type of exam) to their charges, beforehand.
I trust that York will not expel the students, for humanitarian reasons. Nothing to do with the very high, overseas students' fees, of course.

Nick McGine, Wuhan, China

I hope both are kicked out of univ

Kevin Lax, Shanghai, China