A female student who tore up the answer sheets of two classmates in the national college entrance examination, or gaokao, in Pingdingshan city, will receive the punishment, the Higher Education Admissions Office of Henan province said on Thursday.

Based on regulations introduced by the Ministry of Education for handling violations of national education examinations, the test scores of the student will be canceled.

The regulation stipulates that the examinees who intentionally destroy or tear up test papers, answer sheets or test materials in the examination process should be identified as cheaters, and their test scores at all stages and in all subjects in the examination are voided. The scores of such students who take part in the self-study examinations for higher education are invalidated in all subjects.

The measures took effect in 2012.

Hu Yanjun, headmaster of Pingdingshan No 1 Middle School, confirmed that a student suddenly stood and tore up the answer sheets of two classmates nearby while the examination was in progress on Wednesday, the second day of testing.

"The female student was restrained by teachers and taken out for further investigation," Hu told local media.

With the approval of the admissions office, the two students whose answer sheets were torn up were allowed to fill them in again, Hu said.

Why the female student tore up her classmates' answer sheets is unknown, he added.