When Schools Cheat, Our Children Pay the Price
By Dickson Tumuramye
Every
examination season, parents entrust schools with a responsibility that goes
beyond helping children pass examinations. We expect schools to equip learners
with knowledge, skills, and values that will prepare them for life. Yet this
trust is betrayed when teachers or school administrators deliberately
facilitate examination malpractice to secure impressive results.
In
Uganda, where examination results can influence a child's next educational
opportunity, the temptation to secure high grades can be considerable. We have
seen UNEB withholding results for some schools because of examination malpractice.
However, when schools choose dishonesty, children often become the biggest
losers.
When
Good Grades Hide a Problem
A
school may celebrate excellent results, attract new admissions, and earn praise
from parents. But what happens when those results do not reflect what the
learners actually know? A child who advances without mastering essential skills
may struggle at the next level.
Worse
still, when adults help children cheat, they risk teaching them that dishonesty
is acceptable as long as it produces the desired outcome. No wonder corruption
is becoming widespread in every sector because we teach our children that such
behaviours are acceptable in our society.
The
Price of Protecting a School's Reputation
Some
schools or teachers face pressure from directors, especially in private schools,
and parents who expect their children to excel, competition from neighbouring
institutions, and the desire to maintain a good public image. These pressures,
however, cannot justify breaking examination rules.
Under Uganda's examination framework, malpractice can lead to serious consequences, including cancellation of results and other sanctions, depending on the circumstances and applicable regulations. A school's attempt to protect its reputation could therefore damage the very candidates it claims to serve.
When examination
results are withheld or cancelled, it is a child who loses a lot because they
have invested all their time, school fees, emotions, and effort to pass these
examinations. But when they are to repeat a class, a school won’t be affected
like the child.
What
Must Schools Do Differently?
First,
head teachers, directors and proprietors must establish a clear zero-tolerance
policy on examination malpractice. Teachers should understand that leaking
examination materials, supplying unauthorised answers or assisting candidates
to cheat is unacceptable, regardless of the pressure to produce good results.
You
have already done a lot of regular revision, supervised practice examinations,
remedial lessons, teaching, and assessment throughout the year. Let children do
their best; avoid malpractice that puts all of you at risk.
Parents
Must Ask the Right Questions
Parents
also have a responsibility. When choosing a school, they should look beyond
examination rankings and impressive advertisements. They should ask how the
school supports struggling learners, monitors teaching quality, and maintains
examination integrity.
During
examination season, parents should discourage children from seeking leaked
papers, paying for unauthorised assistance, or sharing suspicious examination
materials through WhatsApp groups. If someone promises guaranteed results
through secret arrangements, parents and children should recognise this as a
serious warning sign.
What
Can Education Authorities Do?
The
Uganda National Examinations Board (UNEB), school inspectors and other
responsible education authorities must continue strengthening examination
security, monitoring compliance and investigating credible reports of
malpractice. The challenge is that some of them are bribed by the very schools
they are monitoring or scouting.
Reporting
channels must also be accessible and trusted. Parents, teachers and candidates
who witness suspected malpractice should know how to report it safely to the
relevant authorities. Allegations should be assessed fairly, evidence protected
and investigations conducted without intimidation or premature public
accusations.
Give
Children a Fair Chance
When
malpractice occurs, children should not automatically be treated as equally
responsible. Some may have participated knowingly; others may have been
pressured or manipulated by adults they trusted. Responses should consider the
evidence, the applicable rules, and each person's role, while protecting
candidates' rights.
Schools
should also provide confidential ways for staff and learners to raise concerns
without fear of retaliation. Honest teachers must be supported when they refuse
to participate in wrongdoing.
Success
Must Mean More Than Passing
As
our candidates sit their examinations, schools and families have an opportunity
to reaffirm what education should stand for. Our children deserve
qualifications earned through genuine effort, not results manufactured through
deception. A school that helps a child cheat may help them pass an examination,
but it risks failing them in life.
The
responsibility rests with all of us to protect the integrity of education and
ensure that success means something beyond the marks on a results slip.
The writer
is the executive director of Hope Regeneration Africa, a parenting coach,
marriage counsellor, and founder of the Men of Purpose Mentorship Program.
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