India’s exam system bases the entrance to colleges on the score that a student gets, in a benchmark exam. This score becomes crucial, and sometimes, students who are not well prepared take steps, which may be unethical or unfair. Monitoring students or penalising them is not the solution — a study of the reasons why students cheat is important. Widening of the assessment base, as well as a study of ethics or values, is a must, as a part of the study programme, if we are looking to reducing the number of students who resort to unfair means.
Many children feel the need to cheat because they fear failure and parental pressure. They also believe that they may not get caught while cheating. This is why teachers and parents need to re-enforce the fact that cheating can lead to a career derailment and have serious repercussions. They also believe the end matters more than the means. They are willing to do anything to get marks. To help children be better we must ensure constant support, positive reinforcement and a conducive learning environment in schools and homes.
Students resorting to unfair exam practices is a matter of concern. The system prioritises a frenzied rush to achieve top scores, rather than inculcating originality and creative sensibility. At the grassroot level, this change can be traced to the commercialisation of the education system. Education has been reduced to a commodity, as various coaching institutions and innumerable guides and booklets have replaced the personal student-teacher interaction. Students are exposed to these quick-fire methods to attain good scores, but their personal learning is never gauged.
The fact that such incidents are being highlighted, and action is being taken in terms of tighter scrutiny, reflects the resolve of the administration and teachers to curb such menace. However, the urge to use unfair means also highlights two things — the importance that children and their parents attribute to success, rather than the means to achieve it, and the undue pressure on students to score. While moral and societal factors demand long-term attention from schools and the parents, we must continue to address and strengthen the administrative factors for short-term deterrence.
It is important to understand that there is no short-cut to success. The competition will always exist and it all depends on how to overcome them and build one’s identity. Schools and teachers need to organise special workshops before exams to boost students’ self-confidence and make them understand that cheating is a bad practice. Hard work requires dedication and sincerity. When these elements are lacking in an individual, they result in a spike of ill-practices. The future of more than 15 lakh students can only improve, turn better when the parents, teachers and society at large will come together to educate children about the value system, ethics and make space for healthy competition.
