Cheating may be a deeper flaw in education system

Pushpa Narayan | TNN | Updated: Nov 24, 2017, 07:15 IST



 CHENNAI: In the state medical university, at least three students are caught cheating in every exam. In the past year, officials found the incidence of malpractice to be higher in the nursing and paramedical courses. This despite having bar coded answer sheets, mobile jammers and CCTV cameras in examination centres.

Students of Sathyabama University torched the college on Wednesday after a fellow student commited suicide ove... Read More CHENNAI: In the state medical university, at least three students are caught cheating in every exam. In the past year, officials found the incidence of malpractice to be higher in the nursing and paramedical courses. This despite having bar coded answer sheets, mobile jammers and CCTV cameras in examination centres.

Wednesday's incident in which a Sathyabama University student ended her life after being caught cheating in an exam puts the spotlight on malpractices and the proportion it ca n take if not checked.

Malpractices are as old as exams, but experts say the lack of corrective measures oncampuses against resorting to such practices has come in the way of curbing the habit. Educationist Jayaprakash Gandhi says the system should be such that a malpractice is considered a greater offence than failing as a student unable to clear an exam can always rewrite it. "Repeated malpractices must be dealt with strongly. If a student is not allowed to write future exams, it could curb cheating to some extent. This should be done by all schools rather than focusing on getting their students to score high," he said.

At the higher education level, educationists feel some students are unprepared for the switch from school to college. "I had never wanted to copy but I couldn't help myself as the pressure to pass with a high percentage was too much," says Neelima S, a graduate, who cheated for the first time during a Class XII boards preparatory exam.

Kala Vijayakumar of SSN engineering college feels it is important for colleges to have bridge courses and mentorship programmes so that students can adapt. "Since students come from diverse backgrounds, we see many of them struggling to adjust to the new environment. At least 30% of the students are first generation learners and many of them find the shift difficult to cope with," she said, adding that teaching has to be about learning so that the fear of exams is reduced. A paper on ethics and ethical awareness could also help. "Today, the industry requires well-rounded individuals and not high scorers. Colleges should attempt to inculcate such ethical values," she said.

Several universities have found students cheating using hi-tech devices like micro-photocopies. "The number of students caught is only a tip of the ice-berg. It is difficult to catch them red-handed and they are caught after watching CCTV camera footage," said Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University dean Dr T Balasubramanian.

Online exams, where question patterns can be juggled to minimize scope for malpractices, may be a solution. "VIT is doing it, and now the school education department too is investing in providing computers and smart classes. There should also be a move to change exam patterns along with change in syllabus," said Gandhi.

Psychologist Lakshmi Vijayakumar of Sneha says it is usually two categories of students who indulge in such practices — those who aren't prepared adequately, and those who study but are not confident of getting pass marks. "The concept of end justifying the means is the wrong mindset. The perception that cheating is no big deal should be corrected early. The emphasis on marks has led to such a system where students overlook long term goals for short-term solutions," she said.

Chennai: At the state medical university at least three students are caught or retained for the malpractice during every exam session. In the last one year, officials found the incidence of malpractice to be higher in the nursing and paramedical courses. This despite having barcoded answer sheets, mobile jammers and CCTV cameras in examination centres besides special invigilation squads.

The recent incident of a Sathyabama university student ending her life over being caught cheating during an exam puts the spotlight on malpractices - an issue that begins at the school level.

Malpractices are as old as exams itself. But, experts say that the lack of corrective measures in several campuses against indulging in such practices has come in the way of curbing this habit.

Educationist Jayaprakash Gandhi says that the system should be such that the fear over committing a malpractice must be bigger than fear of failing an exam. He opined that a failed student can always rewrite an exam but a malpractice should be punished more stringently.

"Repeated malpractices must be dealt with very strongly. If a student is not allowed to write future exams in case of being caught, it would curb the habit to some extent. This should be done by all schools rather than focussing on getting their students to score only top marks," he said.

When it comes to the higher education level, educationists say that students find a huge gap from the schooling level to college level and therefore are unprepared.

Kala Vijayakumar of SSN engineering college says that it is very important for colleges to have bridge courses and mentorship programs so that students can adapt. "Since students come from diverse backgrounds, we see many of them struggling to adjust to the new environment. At least 30% of students are first generation learners and many of them find the shift difficult to cope with. It is not that they are less intelligent but the college will have to cater to a diverse mix," she remarked, adding that teaching has to be learner centric so that the fear of exams is reduced.

She also opined that all colleges should have a paper on ethics and ethical awareness. "Today, the industry requires well rounded individuals and not just those who get good marks. Colleges should attempt to inculcate such ethical values," she said.

Several universities have found students using hi-tech devices for copying. While micro-photocopies are one of the commonest tools used by the students, a few of them have been found to be using technology devices. "The number of people we catch is only a tip of the ice-berg. It is sometimes very difficult to catch them while they are in the act. Sometimes, we catch them after watching the CCTV footage. If we don't it is very difficult to take any action. "We have lost cases even when we had evidences of students using Bluetooth during exams and pen scanners," said Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University dean Dr T Balasubramanian.

Experts also said that it is time for all institutions to move toward online exams where question patterns can be juggled so as to not give scope for malpractices. "VIT is an example which is doing this. Now, with the school education department too investing in providing computers and smart classes, there should also be a move to changes in exam patterns along with change in syllabus," Jayaprakash Gandhi remarked.

Psychologist Lakshmi Vijayakumar of SNEHA helpline says that it is usually two categories of students who indulge in such practices - those who aren't prepared adequately for the test, and those who study but are not confident of passing.