UNAM to end contract with exam company Territorium Life amid cheating allegations

The National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) has announced it will prematurely terminate its contract with Territorium Life, the company tasked with administering the online entrance examination for undergraduate admissions in 2026. The decision comes after widespread allegations of cheating and significant issues during the recent exam.

Hugo Alejandro Concha Cantú, the university's general counsel, stated that the early termination is necessary to conduct analyses related to the problems encountered. The administrative secretary, Tomás Humberto Rubio Pérez, reported that UNAM paid Territorium Life 69,189,760 pesos in 2026 for entrance exams for both undergraduate and high school levels.

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We will carry out the early termination to carry out the corresponding analyses derived from the problems presented in the undergraduate exam.

In addition to ending the contract, UNAM will initiate three separate audits. One audit will focus on the technological aspects of the examination platform. The other two will scrutinize the process by which the contract was awarded to Territorium Life. The university's internal audit office and the Superior Audit of the Federation (ASF), at the request of Rector Leonardo Lomelí, will conduct these contract-related audits.

Concha Cantú defended the platform's prior use, noting its successful application in November 2024 for international undergraduate applicants and in 2025 for in-person and distance high school exams. He emphasized that the upcoming control exam is not specifically designed to identify cheaters. The university has also filed five criminal complaints with the Mexico City Prosecutor's Office on July 3, with a potential sixth complaint anticipated.

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In the case of UNAM, the platform was used successfully in exams for applicants in November 2024 outside the country and 2025 at the high school level, in-person and remotely.