An intermediate student at Sahiwal was caught red-handed for cheating through a surgically implanted earpiece. Candidate Muhammad Farooq was undertaking a Chemistry paper at the Government Higher Secondary School on Friday.
Chairman of the Sahiwal Board of Intermediate and Secondary education Hafiz Shafiq caught the student who was on inspection duty. While passing by the students, Hafiz Shafiq heard a phone beep. Farooq, who had an unusual bandage wrapped around his neck and ear, came under suspicion and was asked to stand up for checking.
Upon checking, the invigilators found a headphone and a speaker implanted in his ears and wires around his neck. A small mobile phone was also discovered from the pocket of the students.
Read more: Pakistan’s defective examination system: reforms or demise?
During the interrogation, Farooq revealed that a local dispenser had implanted the device with the help of a few cuts around his ear and neck. According to the SBISE controller, Dr. Fida, Farooq has been handed over to the city police, while the dispenser and his accomplice who helped him solve the paper on the phone have also been arrested.
Cheating in board exams is quite common in Pakistan. Every year, news of students violating the board’s rules on cheating flashes on social and mainstream media. The suburban cities, rural Punjab and interior Sindh records for the most cases of cheating. With students openly using textbooks, mobile phones, and chits to solve the question paper.
Unfortunately, the authorities fail to investigate and apprehend the people involved in facilitating the students in cheating during examinations. Mostly, on-duty teachers and invigilators are found assisting students in cheating during examinations. In most severe cases, often the question papers are leaked on social media before the examination.
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Recently, Chief Minister Sindh Murad Ali Shah had ordered the IBA Sukkur to submit a comprehensive report on the irregularities in the recent matriculation and intermediate examinations in the province, which were largely marred by a mafia supporting the students in cheating during examinations. Hence, IBA Sukkur has advised to conduct examinations with the help of third-party invigilators.
Only time will tell, how much this new recommendation will facilitate in improving the fairness and transparency of the examinations.