11 Nov 2015

Woman charged over exam paper theft

6:07 pm on 11 November 2015

A 23-year-old woman has been charged over the theft of 98 exam papers from Otago University.

There has been a break-in at Otago University.

Otago University said the papers were taken from an office in the Clocktower Building. Photo: RNZ / Ian Telfer

The police said they had charged the woman with the burglary of the university's examinations office, which was discovered on Saturday night.

The doors and windows of the office were significantly damaged in the incident, they said.

It took place on the night of the last day of the university's exam period.

The police said they did not yet know when the woman would appear in court, and would not say whether further charges would be laid over the theft of the papers.

The university said in a statement the papers had now been recovered but were not usable.

It would continue to offer affected students the chance to either re-sit exams or take a grade from internal assessments, the statement said.

Its students were its top priority and it was grateful for their understanding, it said.