Red-handed: PhD and MPhil students hauled for cheating in Quetta

University of Balochistan suspends staff responsible for monitoring the examination hall

QUETTA: A significant number of students were caught red-handed using unauthorised material during the annual examination at Balochistan’s public university, adding to the list of embarrassments that have tainted the country’s education sector.

Students enrolled for the PhD and M Phil programmes at the University of Balochistan (UoB) were caught cheating during the annual exams while the supervisors ignored the blatant violation of examination rules.



Most students, who were hauled by vice chancellor (VC) of the UoB Professor Dr Javed Iqbal during a surprise visit to the examination hall, were found guilty of employing dishonest means – ranging from conferring with others, using cheat sheets of hastily scrawled notes and taking advantage of modern gadgetry to wade through the exam.

In the jarring episode of academic misconduct, Iqbal along with the controller examination seized unauthorised material that was sneaked into the examination hall hours before the exam was due to begin.

Cheating during an examination generally accounts for an infringement of the regulations and can lead to disqualification from the programme, however, the incident at the Balochistan University is a grim reminder of the lack of appropriate standards at academic institutions in the country.

Vowing to initiate punitive action against students who indulge in activities that violate academic rules, the spokesperson for the Balochistan University said: “The university administration has taken serious notice of the issue and suspended staff appointed to monitor the exam hall.” In wake of the incident, he said, the university had postponed exams for an indefinite period.



“I was shocked to see that teachers had turned a blind eye to students resorting to academic malpractice in the examination hall,” said a student registered for the M Phil degree at the university

The cheating revelations come as the Balochistan education department is still grappling with a separate scandal involving  B Com examination material being leaked ahead of the exam.

Last month, while addressing a youth conference, Balochistan Chief Minister Dr Malik Baloch made attempts to persuade students to stay on the straight and narrow. He urged them not to employ dishonest means during the exams.

The chief minister pledged that his government was determined to curb the menace in the province.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 1^st, 2014.