Devi Kar | To stop cheating in exams, let’s teach values, not just police kids…

The strongroom of the bank in which some papers are stored has to be photographed and be under CCTV surveillance round the clock for at least a month. These papers are transported in consignments to the place of their destination and the whole operation must be videotaped each day, till the strongroom is emptied.

This scenario gives the impression that some military strategies and defence measures are being carried out to guard against an impending enemy onslaught. But actually, these are elaborate arrangements to prevent the leakage of question papers and other forms of cheating that occur every year when a large-scale examination is held.

Many people may marvel at the watertight arrangements and appreciate the efforts of the authorities to stop malpractices. However, if we pause to reflect on these precautionary measures and the need for them, we will realise what a pathetic and shameful state of affairs we are witnessing. Instead of educating the young to be honest and upright, we spend time and energy on policing them. Perhaps the argument in favour of the precautionary measures is that dishonest practices have gone on for too long and are now too deep rooted to be effectively stopped. The tragic part is that we did not do anything earlier to stem the tide. But the erosion of self-discipline, integrity and consequently trust, is not limited to our country. This year an international board has ruled that no examinee will be permitted to leave the examination room until all the candidates in all the time zones have completed their respective exams. It is disturbing to think what the extra hours will mean to examinees who are already under intense stress anyway.

Some years ago, even one case of cheating caused a huge hue and cry. For a long time, it was difficult for the culprit to continue a normal existence in school.

Whispers, finger-pointing and boycotting were rife until the incident blew over. I know that this kind of punishing behaviour should not be encouraged but at least there was an awareness of what was wrong and unacceptable. Fast-forward to our current times and you plainly see the difference: cheating has become ubiquitous and it has become the norm.

I noticed the beginnings of this trend when in college, honours students who did not take their “pass subject” seriously, happily cheated from one another during their pass subject exams. They took great pride in the collaborative way they wrote the exams. Then there were fests where contests were held on the “creative ways of cheating”. A debate topic for high school and undergraduate students was “Dishonesty is the best policy”. I remember that people found my indignation over the choice of topic rather amusing. But to this day, I believe that we should not put such ideas in the heads of young people, even in jest.

The whole matter of cheating became an issue of much greater concern during the Covid-19 years, when tests were conducted virtually. Most schools discovered that their students’ scores were miraculously and implausibly high. The sad part was that many parents aided and abetted their offspring in their quest for high scores. The roles that adults play in this game are manifold. There are tutors who claim that they were paper-setters and examiners in order to attract pupils. Teachers often divulge question papers of school tests and exams to their private pupils. Come the board exam, the practical paper instructions come to the schools and the science teachers get a sense of the specific experiments the candidates would be required to perform and they quickly arrange to have a practice session with their students. Some teachers observe that students spend so much time preparing their “cheat sheets” that they could easily learn the matter with far less trouble. We take these things so lightly that films portray ingenious ways of cheating as part of mass entertainment.

The fact that institutions can be perceived as dishonest is clearly indicated in the way the boards do not allow them to conduct exams. At one time people could not imagine that teachers could be dishonest, but it would be naive to expect people to repose the same trust in them today.

Now that the state of affairs has been described, I am sure all sane people will agree that we need to change it -- and the sooner the better. Instead of grumbling about the erosion of values, we must make a determined effort to develop them in our children -- right from the pre-primary stage. If every school did this, society would slowly but surely be transformed to a cleaner one. Most important, we would be able to look forward to brighter days where there is trust and self-respect.

For this to happen, an overhaul of our mindset, including a total rearrangement of our priorities, is required. Once parents and teachers understand that the means are as important as the goals, the way forward will be easier.

As I write this, an incident comes to mind. Decades ago, a student told me in front of the whole class: “I never cheat in your class because you trust me but Mrs M expects me to cheat and keeps looking over my shoulders suspiciously. So, I get a tremendous thrill cheating under her nose!”

At the fag end of my working life, I find myself yearning for those carefree days long, long ago when there was far less policing and far more teaching and learning.