Rampant cheating marks start of exams in upper Sindh

Despite deployment of policemen outside exam centres, people gather there in defiance of ban

SUKKUR:

Cheating was rampant as the annual SSC-I and II examinations began on Tuesday in four districts of upper Sindh under the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education, Sukkur (BISE).

Despite the deployment of policemen outside the examination centres for the Pakistan Studies paper that kicked off the Matriculation examinations, people gathered there in defiance of a ban on the presence of unauthorised persons inside or outside the centres. It has become common practice for such people to provide logistical support to the candidates by greasing the palms of policemen and school staff.

The districts of Sukkur, Ghotki, Khairpur and Naushero Feroze come under the jurisdiction of BISE, which employs vigilance teams to keep an eye on malpractice during examinations. Although these teams book numerous students every year for using unfair means, their efforts often go in vain.

Meanwhile, the district administrations imposed a ban on the gathering of five or more persons outside the examination centres under Section 144. Although they also ordered the closure of photostat facilities within 100 metres of the centres, the machine operators continued to offer their services covertly.

A man standing outside a centre blamed the teachers. “We have no dedicated and honest teachers today, despite the fact that their salaries have been raised manifold,” he said without disclosing his identity. “Most teachers are themselves the products of the culture of copying and have been recruited on the basis of political influence; therefore, they take little interest in their job.”

He claimed that parents were equally responsible for the decline in education as they seldom kept themselves abreast of their children’s progress. “As far as students are concerned, all their interest is in extracurricular activities instead of their books, leaving them dependent on cheating to pass their examinations,” he added.

Abdul Sami Soomro, the BISE examinations controller, told The Express Tribune that 210 centres had been established in the four districts, out of which 174 were designated for male candidates and 36 for female candidates. He explained that 27 vigilance teams had booked 311 students for cheating in raids at various examination centres on Tuesday alone. He added that five cases of impersonation were also caught.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 8^th, 2015.