Mission Impossible: Catching the Cheating Child

Option A- Forehead

Option B - nose

Option C- lips

Option D- chin

Remember this age old code for copying? 😁

Ever since this torture in the name of examination started all of us, who have been kids at some point of our life, have come up with codes and bits and what not , only to get good marks and pass this cruel practice.

Life was made easier for many students when online classes and exams started. Now students are not subjected to the limited knowledge of the person sitting in front of them during the exam, but have access to answers given by people all over the world.

Schools have started using various AI technologies to conduct proctored examinations and prevent the use of such vast knowledge in examinations. What people don't understand is that, if a student really wants to cheat, he/she will surely find a way for it no matter what. Like they say, where there is a will, there is a way ,right?😂. But simple and prevalent daily problems such as power cuts can easily become a cause of stress  for sincere students attending exams through such technologies. This, along with the kind of checking done in some controversial national level exams makes me wonder why is all this necessary at all?

If we humans have had the ability to develop such advanced technologies which claim or try to prevent cheating during exams, why couldn't we come up with a solution for eliminating the problem of cheating itself? Isn't that the problem which the society must focus on?

Examinations, in theory, are meant to find out how much of whatever was taught has been understood by the child. In other words, it is a test to see how well the teacher has taught. But what purpose does it actually serve now? Only as a basis for discrimination and favoritism.

This whole system of having written examinations can be considered as a test of  knowledge of factual information and memory, but never of skill and practical knowledge, both of which are the main things that help us in our lives. 

So what is the solution for this? The evaluation system needs to be changed. Instead of focusing on that one final board exam to determine the student's career, continuous evaluation system should be adopted. More focus must be on developing the child's skill, which can be tested through projects or viva exams.

 The world is running at a rocket's speed. If our huge youth population is tapped and proper training given to students to develop not only their knowledge but also their skill, India will surely become the talent hub of the world. 

So what do you think can be done to improve our education system? Feel free to leave a comment below 'cause I'd love to know what you guys think : )