Somalilandsun -Somaliland National Examination cheaters have planned new ways of earnings their schools and themselves high marks. Technology is playing a great role for unbelievable cheating that happened the last national examinations for standard eight in elementary schools and standard four of secondary schools. Fake styles and copying from other students and passing notes have been replaced by smart phones which has offered Somaliland students opportunities to cheat on a whole new scale using what’s up social media by taking pictures and sending electronics messages to their teachers.
The conventional way of writing notes on the arm before the test and covering it under long-sleeved shirts is still practiced with abandon as this works well especially when concealing Math and science formulas. It is the ministry of education’s duty to counter this habit.
Another weakness that existed is that examiners have not also changed tact over the years by setting questions and answers in different ways and forms and even methods are not frequently developing, pupils are finding it easy to cheat nowadays because of technology and smart phones and the style of exam papers have not differed than the usual.
As I have heeded the Somaliland National Examination. I hear about cases of cheating and even worse. Many of pupils in the examination rooms just copy and paste data from examination answer papers which was earmarked for students to read before examination others were using what’s up social media by sending messages to their teachers and their older students to cheat the examination but what’s worse, some teachers and staff those who monitoring the examination where realized this but choose to turn a blind eye because some Teachers are going to exploit their position by biasing towards a certain group of student. If the situation of cheating of Somaliland National Examinations goes like this, students will learn less, and they will learn wrong things and even it may discourage bright students not to read. There are specific risks of cheating in the examination centers in our poor education control system including some teachers may sell advance information about examination some others may allow students to use technology such as what’s up to cheat. In Somaliland where there is low payment and weak supervision, teachers may not show up honest for their work.
Higher education, especially at the secondary level is of paramount importance for Somaliland’s future. Somaliland requires both highly trained people those who monitor the exam centers in order to be able to formulate cheating policies and implement it and CCTV cameras in order to monitor the exam centers.
By telling the truth for ourselves, Ministry of Education and its officials will take the greatest responsibility for the students’ cheating because there is no published social report to the level of cheating for Somaliland National Examination for all stakeholders in order to evaluate the situation. Teachers are partly to blame for students cheating because they have offered Somaliland students opportunities to cheat on a whole new scale by using what’s up social media and sending electronics messages to their students in examination centers.
All in All Technology has played a great role for unbelievable cheating that happened the last National Examinations for standard eight in elementary schools and standard four of secondary schools in Somaliland. Fake styles and copying from other students and passing notes have been replaced by smart phones which has offered Somaliland students opportunities to cheat on a whole new scale by using what’s up. For my advice ministry of education should face the problem of cheating in Somaliland and not to turn a blind eye. We need a great social awareness campaign against cheating and I say enough is enough no more cheating in Somaliland.
Thank you
Mohamoud Dahir Omar
Education Analyst
