Cheating heights

A couple of years back a principal and a teacher were physically assaulted by students who were stopped from cheating during the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations at a Karachi centre. The incident was widely condemned and the culprits were punished. The fact is that cheating is rampant in all spheres of our society including education sector which lays more emphasis on grades/divisions rather than the actual capability of a student. More often than not, the pressure that students face for ‘A’ grades from parents, teachers and peers forces them to abandon their morals and get into a win- at- all- cost rat race. Schools – especially in the private sector – have also become a party to this ‘education scam’ by publishing 100 percent pass results along with photographs and grades of high achievers in state-run examinations. As a teacher I am convinced that cheating in examinations by students is due to lack of character building by teaching community and parents.

There is an urgent need for the government to curb cheating in examinations conducted by schools/colleges/universities. The students should be encouraged to play a greater and active role in the acquisition of knowledge and in the development of their cognitive abilities. An in depth review of examination system should be carried out such that rote learning is discouraged. To minimise cheating opportunities in examinations, CCTV cameras should be installed in examination halls. Examination halls should be spacious so that there is a gap of 10 feet between each student appearing in the examination. The security of police commandos should be provided in examination halls for protection of examiners and invigilators

Group Captain (r) Saeed Nawaz Khan

Rawalpindi