Need to check cheating in exams

IN continuance and support of Taimoor Khan's letter, 'Cheating in exams' (March 17), I would like to further point out that the use of unfair means in secondary and higher secondary examinations at our educational institutions has dealt a deadly blow to our educational standard. Besides, the standard of education leaves much to be desired. It is pathetic that most of our so-called graduate or postgraduate, semi-literate or poorly educated students are unable to write even a simple letter in English correctly. Use of unfair means at various examinations has taken strong roots in our society and not only the education departments concerned are responsible for it but we all are for our collective failure to chalk out a policy so that cheating can be done away with once and for all. Some of the students who cheat are so influential that if any teacher, lecturer, professor, invigilator, external or internal superintendent or member of any vigilance team tries to make a case against them or snatch their paper, he/she is misbehaved with, attacked or threatened with dire consequences. It is also a widely acknowledged fact that most of the teachers or professors, who are getting handsome salaries, run private tuition centres and are reluctant to teach their subjects properly in schools or colleges. Some of the affluent and influential parents of students not only make full arrangements at the centre to have copying material supplied to their offspring but as soon as examinations are over, they contact the staffers of boards and assessors of papers, grease their palms so that their sons or/and daughters be given good marks so that they can be easily selected for medical or engineering colleges. Worth mentioning here is the fact that some students who get too little marks in their theory papers are given full marks in practical tests of various subjects by their teachers and professors. It has also been witnessed that some professors who have the right contacts at the right places easily get their poorly educated children selected for the medical or engineering field by using unlawful tactics. It is time some stern measures were taken to nip this evil in the bud for good. PREM SHIVANI Mithi