“Cheating is the enemy of progress
and the killer of true potential.”
With the rising worries over cheating and unfair procedures in the route of the matriculation evaluation procedure, the KPK government announced a unprejudiced choice to move the matter exams from private facilities to government run institutions. As a bold move to clamp down on the increasing malpractice blowing out of proportion and also level the playing field in an effort to ensure that all learners are able to progress successfully in school, however, this move is coming in. The government taking timely action against the cheating not only paves the path for more transparent, equitable and merit based examination process but could have huge impact on the future of education in the province as well.
Pakistan’s education system has always been known to have private examination halls where they conduct matric exams for years. Nevertheless, these places have been called into question multiple times due to lots of reports about malpractice and the low kinds of administration. Serious question have been raised about the fairness of the system due to overcrowded examination halls, inadequate facilities and even in some cases cheating. The fact that many students from public institutions, especially in rural areas, had to fight their way to compete with other students at private centers with inferior facilities made it harder for them to achieve equivalence with the students attending posh schools. This then was the reason why the KPK government decided to remedy these disparities by giving all students an equal environment of which the environment is fair and transparent.
The first aspect of major changes is centralizing exams in government institutions, as in the past they were held in private centers. It’s not without challenges for the government; private educational institutions that have increasingly come to depend on their commission as exam centers are facing a shortfall in revenue. Organizing and hosting exams have financially benefitted many private schools and colleges in one way or the other, and this move threatens their business models. However, the move itself is mostly for the students’ good. This could be a game changer if successful, a policy that has potential of creating an examination procedure where all students, whatever their economic background, will have the same opportunity as possible to successfully pass based on their respective academic merit.
While this decision has been hailed as a good one, there may be challenges to how this decision is to be implemented. Another of the key concerns is the ability of government institutions to accommodate the large number of (freshers). Government schools and colleges are already facing issue of overcrowding and lack of resources. To accommodate the influx of exam takers, the government will have to increase the facilities being adequate to the exam takers, increase the number of staff readily available to supervise the exam, and provide sufficient administrative systems. It will involve a heavy time and resource commitment, and done badly even the reform’s purpose will be undermined.
In addition, the government has assured that CCTV cameras will be installed in examination hall and a team of other officers to monitor the process, but these processes will be effective if applied properly. Knowing how cheating works and of how cheating can be prevented is not enough to ensure that cheating can be monitored. Whenever there is an opportunity to cheat, students are finding new and creative ways, and that would require more than merely having cameras installed throughout the room to completely wipe out dishonesty. The government has to go a more comprehensive way of things, training the invigilators; creating higher awareness of academic integrity; perhaps even changing the culture of examinations.
Japan’s education system offers a good example of using standardized exams, if they are operating in a well regulated framework. Japan’s education system is extremely hardworking and consistently ranks at the top of the world in education. In this country, the system of examinations is very centralized, because they are being organized by the public institutions. It makes sure that there is no difference in quality of facilities or opportunities for students who are attending public or private schools. The characters are therefore developed and integrity are so highly emphasized in Japan. The belief in fairness in society extends to education and within the exam process, it is clear there are strict measures in place to prevent cheating.
The reasons for Japan’s success lie in having a well developed infrastructure, transparent processes and a culture of merit and accountability. The Japan government so ensures that the examination and testing process is closely supervised to avoid private centres, in the past, being associated with unregulated practice much like private centers in Pakistan. In Pakistan, and more specifically, in KPK, this new attempt is for the new reform for centralizing exams in government institutions to replicate in a sense transparency, equality and fairness.
The decision by the KPK government to relocate matriculation examinations to government run institutions is a good step in the right direction to equalise the education system, but the true test will be how these measures are implemented. Moving thousands of students to government run institutions is no easy task. KPK is a province where rural areas are still trying to access limited educational resource so it will need careful planning to assure that these centralized examination centers are available to all students. If the government institutions are not capable of handling the increased number of students they may experience overcrowding, delays and other issues that could defeat the purpose of fairness. The government will also have to make sure that there is adequate number of invigilators as well as staff who can monitor the exams properly and that the cases of cheating can be prevented.
The significance of this policy is also to be looked at within the broader cultural context. Examinations are seen as the end of the line in Pakistan, in terms of measuring a student’s worth, resulting in a lot of pressure on the students to perform well. It is often said that the examination system itself is too overtly rote memorized and not concerned enough with critical thinking or creativity. This reform is a step towards educating fair, however it should be viewed as a part of a larger reform meant to take place in education. The government must also take necessary steps and strengthen the efforts in transforming the education system by improving the quality of teaching, reinforcing the curriculum and tackling the existing irreconcilable issues which keep the education at an unfortunate level.
Certainly these challenges stand in the way, but the KPK government’s decision is significant because it contributes to a more equal educational system. The reform if done well would be an example for other provinces in Pakistan. It shows that it is willing to give every student with the same chances to succeed, irrespective of their socio-economic status, or after the school they go to. All these are good and the government is to be commended for its focus of transparency, fairness and accountability, and i hope this one they are enacting will continue in the long run to help improve the examination process.
The success of the reform will need the government to create a trust environment. Like Japan, where people have a common understanding about the necessity of the integrity, Pakistan too needs to culturally establish integrity policy and the sense of education worthiness more than everything else. It’s not just infrastructure and surveillance that the government needs to invest in — the government must pay equal attention to investing in students, teachers, and even parents’ education of meritocracy and fairness in the academic world as well.
Overall, this is a good initiative in rescheduling the matriculation exams to be held in government run institutions in KPK. Of course, there are challenges to eliminate but the advantages are not to be denied: fairer tests, fewer cheating and a more consistent examination process. Taking this major step, the KPK government is making a statement that they want to make the education system more transparent and fair in order for every student to have their chance to succeed on merit. However, if carried out, this reform could be a stirring of the current much needed change in Pakistan’s education sector, breaking away from the influence of the privileged and backwardly tainted institutions. Countries such as Japan offer us the example of how centralized exams can work, and Pakistan now must not only work, but also must work to mirror it for the sake of its future villages.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of The Global Dynamic or its editorial team.
