Despite heightened invigilation, 359 applicants were still dealt with for violations during China's 2011 national public servant exam, according to the State Administration of Civil Service (SACS).

"It is the invariable theme of the public servant exam to ensure the order of the exam," an unnamed official with the SACS said on Saturday, adding that the figure dropped from last year's 561 and 2009's nearly 1,000.

It was not clear how these applicants violated the rules or how they were dealt with, but previous violations included transmitting exam information via cell phones or other radio devices and using fake ID cards to attend the exam.

According to relevant regulations, applicants will receive a "zero" for the exam if cheating is found, and serious violators will be banned from applying for official posts in five years.

The highly competitive annual National Public Servant Exam last month attracted 1.03 million candidates for an unproportionate 16,000 vacancies around the country.

According to the SACS official, more than 90,000 invigilators were arranged for this year's exam. The Ministry of Public Security and the radio supervision departments were also involved to ensure an orderly exam environment.

Applicants may send text messages or log on to mohrss.gov.cn and scs.gov.cn to check the results of their written exams, which will be available on Sunday.