Rampant cheating
Cheating in exams has become a common phenomenon across Pakistan. It is now so well-entrenched in our educational fabric that even entry tests for higher studies are not spared from this unfair practice. Just recently cases were registered against 25 students in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa under PPC section 419 and 420 for using electronic gadgets during entrance tests for admission to medical and dental colleges.
Education institutions are in such shoddy conditions that they neither have the resources nor do they have systems in place to curb rampant cheating. Simple remedial measures are not enough to tackle the creative ways of cheating that aspiring students employ. And because of this, intelligent and hardworking students are bereft of their desired place, raising serious questions on the merits of students currently studying. No wonder passing percentages remain deplorably low and majority of students, according to recent reports, aren’t able to perform well in simple English or Math. It is a terrifying testament of the depleting professional standards and foreshadows a bleak future for a country currently struggling to accommodate the burgeoning youth population. Putting an end to cheating will require reformation on the policy side and heavy-handedness through vigilant surveillance. Strict punishments and a zero-tolerance approach over cheating is partly why the British education system fares relatively better. By collaborating and synergising with such agencies, the government can learn and develop less flawed testing systems that can uphold some semblance of integrity.
Admission tests for universities must be regulated, and instead of conducting individual tests, quarterly combined examinations should be conducted in a professional and transparent manner. Moreover, test papers need to be designed in ways that test the students’ intelligence rather than their memory. There are many successful examples of regulatory mechanisms from around the world but the onus lies on the government to initiate a concerted response to quell this disastrous culture that is rotting away the very foundations of our society.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 13th, 2023.
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