Moalims

Academic dishonesty is a widespread practice, across all age groups, and in probably all cultures globally. Academic violations are more rampant in developing countries like Pakistan where the pressure to continuously succeed drives students to resort to many unsavoury practices. Over the years, authorities have come up with many pre-emptive measures to check the prevalence of cheating culture in the country. In one crackdown last week, the paramilitary forces arrested a photocopy shop owner in Karachi after recovering various solved copies of matriculation English language examination paper in his possession. Not only does this episode signify the might of cheating in educational institutes, it also raises many doubts on the potential of Pakistani students.

However, the ever-increasing levels of academic malpractices cannot be justified by shaming the students alone. Because of the oft-imposed overwhelming social and parental pressures dictating students to rank grades significantly higher than the value of learning, many are forced to attempt every trick in the book to get the much-desired top marks. The cheating culture has now become a self-perpetuating dynamic where examples of ‘successful’ perpetrators incite even more students to employ dishonest practices to reap the same benefits. What further intensifies this societal need to out-perform others is the sheer number of colleges that students all over the country are encouraged to apply to. The perpetually booming number of students, in a country bombarded with population explosion, ratchet up the already unrelenting pressures faced by students applying to these institutes. They, hence, feel the need to cheat in order to stand apart from the sea of applicants. May it be individual students practising the old school methods of writing essays in advance or the institutional endorsements in the form of copy mafia, unfair educational practices appear to be the norm everywhere.

Many elaborate examples of cheating culture are reported every year on the onset of board examinations, particularly in districts of the upper Sindh. Even though Pakistani media continues to talk at length about the illegal provision of ‘logistical support’ to candidates by invigilators in conjunction with people of political influence, no significant action has yet been taken against the wrongdoers.

Many educationists are of the view that the outdated approaches to teaching, currently employed in Pakistani schools, are also to be held responsible in giving rise to these dishonest practices. As has been pointed out on many prior occasions, education boards should revise their curriculum on an emergency footing. However, a new syllabus cannot be the sole mitigating factor of this widespread culture. Education boards need to revolutionise both their teaching and assessment approaches. In lieu of utilising the decades-old passive modes of instruction, students should now be made to reflect upon their learning. If the content-based assessments are replaced by conceptual exams, students will not only engage with their curriculum in a deeper manner but also start constructing their own concepts rather than reproducing the taught particulars. It is the responsibility of both parents and educational institutes to co-operate with authorities so that a modernised set of instruction replaces the existing degenerative model and Pakistani schools create more analytic thinkers and less dishonest cheaters. *

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