More than 100 students taking the country’s tour-guide exam – a test that has had a history of bribery – were monitored by the Anti-Corruption Unit this week at Cambodian Mekong University.

This year marks the first in which the ACU monitored the exam – the first step in becoming a licensed tour-guide in the Kingdom – mimicking the body’s oversight of the national Grade 12 exam, which has been widely hailed for largely eliminating cheating and bribery from the testing process.

On Tuesday, 108 students took the exam at the private university in Phnom Penh, which is currently licensed by the Ministry of Tourism to administer the exam in the capital, said Keo Buntheng, chief of public relations and student affairs at Cambodian Mekong.

There have been allegations of bribery during the exam in the past, which prompted the university and Ministry of Tourism to invite the ACU in February to take part, Buntheng said.

“It will ensure transparency and fairness,” he said. “If [the students] have the capabilities, they will pass.”

Late last year, two officials from the ministry were found to have taken bribes of up to $3,000 from candidates during the examination in Siem Reap.

Angkor University is currently licensed to provide the exam in Siem Reap. A university representative confirmed the ACU will also monitor the exam there on October 25.