Hundreds of cheating cases despite strict search, tough penalties

By Faten Omar KUWAIT: Several schools busted hundreds of cases of cheating in the first days of the final exams for 12th-grade students. Rotating school principals entrusted with chairing examination committees is a demand by many in order to avoid and prevent such practices. Sources revealed that the number of cheating cases discovered in two …

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By Faten Omar

KUWAIT: Several schools busted hundreds of cases of cheating in the first days of the final exams for 12th-grade students. Rotating school principals entrusted with chairing examination committees is a demand by many in order to avoid and prevent such practices. Sources revealed that the number of cheating cases discovered in two days reached nearly 600 in the science and arts streams. Cheaters are denied entry to the rest of the exams and score zero in all subjects, which is considered as a heavy-handed response by many.

Iman Al-Ali, a teacher, told Kuwait Times that despite being an educational staff member, she considers the action of the ministry of education exaggerated. “The ministry of education has made an ill-considered decision. It is not fair to fail the student in all exams because they cheated. They should fail the student in the exam they cheated in,” she said.

Ali explained that cheating has increased due to the e-learning period that led to a deterioration in the quality of education, which made it a phenomenon that threatens the future of generations, adding it is the ministry of education’s fault. “I do not agree with cheating, but because the student cheated in one exam, you hand them a ban and let them repeat the whole year for one incident!”

Meanwhile, several secondary school students have complained about the inspection procedures carried out by security staff and teachers, and the embarrassment these procedures cause. Students stressed that the inspections violate their modesty by touching sensitive areas of their bodies.

Pat-down search

Lawyers have warned that the pat-down search procedure of students in schools is illegal, and whoever is subjected to it can file a case against the school. Lawyer Ahmad Sanat told Kuwait Times that a pat-down search of students is considered illegal and is a violation, demanding parents file a complaint to the director of educational affairs in the area in which the inspection took place.

He warned of breaking inspection rules and legal standards, thus exposing the school to legal accountability, pointing out that students and parents have the right to resort to the judiciary in case of abuse during the inspection. Sanat called on the Supreme Education Council to provide electronic gates or electronic scanners to detect metal objects and limit manual inspection only for suspected students. Sanat stressed inspection without legal or procedural justifications or suspicion puts a violation against the school, in addition to causing a breakdown of trust between students and school administrations.

A source at the legal affairs department at the ministry of education told Kuwait Times that no law allows a pat-down search, and whoever is inspected must go to the ministry of education to file a complaint. “We investigate many of the complaints that we receive, and the complaint is transferred to a committee to verify the incident. The teacher and the head of the examination committee will be held accountable,” he said. He affirmed that according to the type of inspection (like a girl’s sensitive areas), the punishment will be approved. “The penalty will be imposed on who is in charge. It starts from a deduction of salary of three days to a week and a warning, and if repeated, the person will be expelled and deported if they are a non-Kuwaiti.”

Inspected several times

Students told Kuwait Times that individual inspections go too far. Rasha Majdi, a 12th-grade student, said that she was inspected several times with all kinds of searches. “The guard demanded we take off all our clothes, including shirts, trousers, scarves and shoes. The policy of preventing cheating is supposed to be in all grades. Parents should rectify the situation, because smart students who have studied hard are being affected and are distracted by cheaters,” she said.

Kuwait Society of National Integrity said in a press statement that education of young people is among the main indicators of the future of countries. “Cheating in exams has turned into a phenomenon, which poses a severe danger to Kuwait’s future that goes beyond security risks and economic concerns,” it said. The society demanded the government should impose strict control over all examination procedures, and in the event of leaked exam papers, investigation committees must be formed to hold accountable and punish those who are negligent.

In addition, it should provide schools with modern technological means to detect devices used for cheating and consider them as crime tools, which requires investigation with the student and the guardian to know how the student got this cheating device. The statement addressed the need to prohibit imports of cheating tools and issue a decision by the ministry of commerce to prevent the sale and purchase of such devices. Also, media campaigns should be organized to consolidate the values of educational integrity and raise students’ and parents’ awareness of the dangers of cheating.

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