Maravi

Leakages

Leakages
Written by Editor

THE rampant examination leakages that have been witnessed in our education system at secondary school level this year are very worrying. This is so because it seems this trend is growing and getting out of hand.

Zambia National Union of Teachers (ZNUT) secretary general Roy Mwaba says over 120 pupils countrywide were involved in examination malpractices.

Some pupils had papers which had pre-marked answers, while others had answers written on rulers and rubbers. Others were caught discussing answers shortly before an examination session. Some teachers in different parts of the country were even arrested by police for engaging in examination malpractices. This is unacceptable and something needs to be done to correct the situation, if we are serious about developing our country's education system.

Leakages have a tendency of undermining the quality and integrity of our education system. Integrity in the education system is key to social and economic progress. But it is this same integrity which is under threat right now and a lasting solution to the problem of examination malpractices is needed.

Almost every year, pupils are suspended or expelled from their schools, while teachers and other officials are disciplined or arrested, for being in unlawful possession of examination materials. It is sad because the culture of cheating during examinations seems to have spread into every corner of the country. Some young Zambians are clearly using corruption to pass examinations.

An education system that has no integrity affects the country socially, economically and politically. This is very worrying because some of our teachers are involved in this vice. A lot of responsibility has been entrusted in the hands of our teachers, but some bad eggs seem to be painting a bad picture of this noble profession. Teachers have a responsibility to ensure safe custody of the examination papers and it is sad that they are the ones giving out these papers to pupils. Now if a teacher cannot be trusted with these documents, who will take care of these papers?

What is worrying is that people who have an appetite to facilitate cheating can have a negative impact on the country. This country has entrusted a lot of responsibilities in our teachers, including having to conduct our political elections. In the just-ended elections a teacher was caught with ballot papers. This is worrying. The net effect of all this is that it has a tendency of rewarding mediocrity, dishonesty and crookedness.

It appears that the culture of cheating and wanting to claim dubiously acquired results has become entrenched in our society. The virtue of working hard, breaking nights for results acquired in an honest way, is being eroded. The culture of crookedly seeking an advantage over other candidates by illegally obtaining examination papers prior to the examination must be a serious source of concern for all.

We can only wonder how many pupils have 'passed' as a result of gaining premature and fraudulent access to examination materials. What type of character is being molded in pupils who believe in taking the easy way out, cheating instead of working hard to earn good results?

What happens to the hard-working pupils who are denied entry to university or college, simply because others crookedly obtained the marks needed to enter these tertiary institutions? Should dishonest school leavers be left to continue gaining such an advantage over their principled colleagues?

The consequences of leakages are detrimental to the future of our country and its citizens. When you have undeserving pupils going to university or college, it is highly likely that these cheating students are likely to get jobs that they do not deserve. And if dishonesty defeats merit in awarding jobs it means even the quality of the work by the cheats will also be affected.

It is not a secret that leakages compromise the integrity and efficacy of our examination system. The scourge of examination material leakage will sooner than later erode all of our people's confidence in the standard and quality of our education system - that is if it hasn't already done so. After all, why should pupils work hard and study if they can just wait for leakages at the end of the year and still pass their exams?

Examinations are one of the best ways of rewarding deserving children. And if we were to abandon this system, what better system would we use to make sure that we encourage hard work among pupils and students?

Clearly, this is most undesirable. Examinations world-over set standards for individuals to progress to the next stage in life.

Each year, shortly before examinations at grades 7, 9 and 12 levels are to take place, head teachers, teachers, examination supervisors and invigilators take oath to discharge their duties in an honest manner, and to uphold the integrity of the examinations. Something therefore urgently needs to be done to ensure that those who swear to play this role, in the most decent and honest way, and determine the future of our children, stay true to their word; that those who decide to cheat, to lie and desecrate our institutions pay for it.

It is clear that something has to be done. The scourge of cheating in examinations should be dealt with just in the same manner that moves are being made to eliminate cheating during elections.

Labels: EXAMS

posted by MrK @ 4:50 AM