DHAKA, 24 March — Determined to put a stop to copying and cheating in examinations, the Education Ministry in Bangladesh has launched a media campaign against cheating as a means of entering universities. The advertisements warn that anyone caught cheating will be punished by expulsion and blacklisting.
Last week as more than ten thousand high school students were expelled from the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) examinations, the campaign seems to have had no deterrent effect. At least 30 teachers and invigilators accused of helping students cheat have been dismissed from their jobs.
“Cheating in examinations in schools, colleges, universities everywhere is rampant. Only a few are expelled; many more are successful cheaters. The government should act to stamp out cheating which seems to have become a tradition in Bangladesh,” says Angela M. V. Robinson a British volunteer education advisor with the Church of Bangladesh.
The government and education authorities allege determination to stop cheating and the latest mass expulsions of both students and teachers reflect their commitment. In some schools stringent security has been implemented with armed policemen deployed outside examination halls; cheating, however, continues unabated. Police arrested a number of people who were trying to smuggle notes to candidates in the examination centers. Last year photocopies of the SSC examination papers were available on the black market. For only 500 taka (less than $10), candidates could get one of the papers. The English exam was in great demand and it was selling in some places for as much as 2000 taka. Many commentators say that political parties support such abuse and so the government’s efforts to eradicate cheating comes to nothing.
A British journalist making a documentary on Bangladesh’s education system commented, “Student unions loyal to both ruling and opposition parties are helping pupils to cheat in return for political support. This of course has made the situation worse.”
The Bangladesh College Teachers Association (BCTA) accused some student union leaders of threatening invigilators with violence if they did not allow certain people to enter exam centers and help their friends or if they tried to stop the candidates from cheating.
“We agree that some invigilators turn a blind eye to cheating but in most cases, we are helpless before students and others who are armed with knives, acid and sometimes even guns,” said one top Dhaka public school headmaster anonymously.
It is not only SSC candidates who cheat in exams. Students in colleges, universities and even candidates in civil services examination resort to cheating. K.L. Rahman, a Bangladeshi educator said, “Mass cheating in exams is producing graduates with very low capabilities. Their academic degrees and certificates are virtually worthless. It is unfortunate that many of these pass-outs are becoming teachers and making the educational system in Bangladesh even more corrupt and weaker.”
