Who’s to blame for examination malpractices?
26th February 2007
EXAMINATION malpractices have persisted and many institutions have been affected by this fast-spreading virus. The forms of malpractices include students taking chits to the examination room, bribing supervisors and invigilators so that they turn a blind eye to the cheating candidates, and dictating
Lindah Niwenyesiga
EXAMINATION malpractices have persisted and many institutions have been affected by this fast-spreading virus. The forms of malpractices include students taking chits to the examination room, bribing supervisors and invigilators so that they turn a blind eye to the cheating candidates, and dictating answers to the candidates or writing them on blackboards.
The forms of cheating exams in universities are debatable but I think it is common among students who are known to lectures or support staff. A student who is a related to a lecture or an administrative officer by blood or through marriage may have access to the questions before hand. Exams are set by lectures but in certain cases the scripts go through a number of people before the students sit for them.
If there is a leakage in the chain, some students will benefit and put the rest at a disadvantage. This is unfortunate because everyone aims at attaining a good grade.
The main cause of cheating is deliberate leaking of questions to candidates by those involved in the examination process. Corruption plays big part in this and the Government should look into the problem before the situation gets out of hand.
Another problem is poor management at the Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB) or lack of professional ethics by examiners. Other factors contributing to malpractices are inadequate preparation on the part of students because they waste time on watching movies or beauty contests, lack of parental guidance and poor teachers. Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE) are here. We should no misinterpret these programme of bonna basome (education for all) to mean Mbonna bakope (cheating for all). Schools that have penalised for examination malpractices should not participate in UPE and USE.
Unfortunately, some people take cheating exams as a simple matter. They don not think about the repercussions such as cancellation of the centre’s entire results, which not only ruins the reputation of the institution, but also affects innocent students and their parents.
The vice can be cured if we all fulfill our respective responsibilities as managers, professors, parents, teachers and students.
The writer is a student of Mass Communication at Makerere University
EXAMINATION malpractices have persisted and many institutions have been affected by this fast-spreading virus. The forms of malpractices include students taking chits to the examination room, bribing supervisors and invigilators so that they turn a blind eye to the cheating candidates, and dictating answers to the candidates or writing them on blackboards.
The forms of cheating exams in universities are debatable but I think it is common among students who are known to lectures or support staff. A student who is a related to a lecture or an administrative officer by blood or through marriage may have access to the questions before hand. Exams are set by lectures but in certain cases the scripts go through a number of people before the students sit for them.
If there is a leakage in the chain, some students will benefit and put the rest at a disadvantage. This is unfortunate because everyone aims at attaining a good grade.
The main cause of cheating is deliberate leaking of questions to candidates by those involved in the examination process. Corruption plays big part in this and the Government should look into the problem before the situation gets out of hand.
Another problem is poor management at the Uganda National Examination Board (UNEB) or lack of professional ethics by examiners. Other factors contributing to malpractices are inadequate preparation on the part of students because they waste time on watching movies or beauty contests, lack of parental guidance and poor teachers. Universal Primary Education (UPE) and Universal Secondary Education (USE) are here. We should no misinterpret these programme of bonna basome (education for all) to mean Mbonna bakope (cheating for all). Schools that have penalised for examination malpractices should not participate in UPE and USE.
Unfortunately, some people take cheating exams as a simple matter. They don not think about the repercussions such as cancellation of the centre’s entire results, which not only ruins the reputation of the institution, but also affects innocent students and their parents.
The vice can be cured if we all fulfill our respective responsibilities as managers, professors, parents, teachers and students.
The writer is a student of Mass Communication at Makerere University