Widespread cheating in examinations in recent years has compromised not only the quality of education but also the quality of students passing through the education system and into the workforce. It is a serious development issue.
Here are some records of cheating:
National Department of Education's Measurement Service Board
This year, 2016, the government (through the National Department of Education's Measurement Service Board conducted a nationwide review of the examination process; to ascertain loopholes and recommend ways to stop students from cheating in examinations. The MSB did a good job with it. Have the measures MSB took to stop cheating worked? Probably, yes but not conclusive.
The National Newspaper reported Asaroka Secondary School students bought exam answer sheets, only to have realised after the exams that the answer sheets were fake. Cheats cheated. The cheaters have got to be stopped from entering higher learning institutions. They are a waste of space.
[Please note that the newspaper report of the riot was not true. No riot had occurred at Asaroka Secondary School after the grade 12 examination according to the school principal in a Post Courier report]
Indicatively the stoppage measures taken by the MSB may have worked. No reports of actual exam papers or answer sheets were floating around before the exams, unlike in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Given that MSB and the education department were criticised for being too complacent as far as cheating was concerned in recent years, they should equally be complemented this year.
Well done Exam Review Committee 2016 and MSB.
These cheats are not going to have easy access to tertiary institutions. For example, the University of Technology has taken measures to stop cheaters from entering this prestigious institution. Prospective students wanting to attend UNITECH have sat an entry exam online.
By making delivery of exam papers and answer sheets safe and secure and tertiary institutions (like UNITECH), 'standing at the entry gate and saying - no we don't want rotten apples in our institutions' is practising quality check. The check makes the institution prestigious: admired and respected.
Quality checks on students from the start of student admittance into any institution will stop both cheaters and those trying to bribe their way in. All higher learning institutions must do the background check, whether it be entry test (usually taken before admittance) or check on students' internal assessment marks (with secondary schools' academic principals) or other checks. It is about ensuring that hardworking student gets the place he/she deserves. This is justifiable, it is the right thing to do.
