A prosecutor charged nine people in Thessaloniki yesterday for allegedly tampering with June’s university entrance exam results in the subject of English, sources said yesterday.

Prosecutor Vassilis Floridis charged eight markers and the head of the examination committee with repeated counts of falsifying results.

The charges were brought following the completion of an internal inquiry into claims that marks on 33 test papers were given a boost on the instructions of the head of the examination center.

Two English teachers who had been hired to mark university entrance exam papers told authorities that they had been told to remark tests, allegedly so that the students in question could get pass grades.

It appears the teachers were also aware of the names of the students. Normally, the names of senior high school students do not appear on exam papers when they are given to markers in order to ensure impartiality.

In the 33 cases, the marks for the exams were changed despite having been assessed by a third person, said Education Ministry General Secretary Andreas Karamanos. “This is forbidden,” he said, adding that the 33 students will have their papers marked from the beginning.

PASOK accused the Education Ministry of breaking the law in its decision to remark the students’ tests.

Security is usually tight for the competitive university entrance exams to ensure there is no foul play but this year’s tests were already blighted when one set of exam questions was posted in Larissa before they appeared on the Education Ministry’s website.