If you want to cope in this rat race world of ‘education’, copy! Copy from your friend, copy from the Internet, copy from books, just copy. As a parent, I encourage you to do it, as long as you manage to get in to and graduate from a State Run University. As a private school owner, I encourage you to do it and bribe the officials so that my school will become reputable. As a friend, I help you do it as it is the shortest way to success.That seems to be in everybody’s mind these days. Students are encouraged and in some cases pressured to cheat in exams. I’ve heard that some high schools in Addis even go one step further and alter the transcripts of their students so that their students get in to better placed institutions and win scholarships.
Why, why would a school encourage it? ‘It’s all about money, honey,’ would be their answer. If most or all of the students pass in flying colours in a National Exam, every parent wants to send their kids to this school. So, it’s a performance-based marketing strategy. And these kids hardly put an effort and they cope with the pressures of college education by copying – because that is all they know!
I don’t want to sound a hell-fire-preacher, but this will certainly push the quality of education further down the abyss. And cheating is encouraged because people believe that educational success is key to success. But they are missing the point here, only true education will be the key to success and the long term consequences of producing cheats and ‘copy-ers’ are far reaching. What is the point of having anti-corruption campaigns when tomorrow’s workforce is being encouraged and pressured to cheat by the very institutions – schools and families – that were supposed to teach proper moral values? It worries me. And I hope you agree with me when I say it should worry everybody.
I mean, one might blame the powers-that-be for the state of the quality of education but what can the government do when parents and private schools (mind you – some of them are run by religious institutions) contribute heavily to the downfall of education?
I don’t know!
You raised a good point indeed. I have been wondering what kind of workforce our schools are producing in a country suffering from lack of quality and creativity.Recently the govt. has implimented a COC exam and only few could manage to pass.I think such moments of truth tell we have lots of fake CVs in our shelves.Surprising yet true our educational institutions contribute abundantly for the mediocre workforce we see in the market.By the way I have long ago withdrawn my self from such places of “knowledge” to keep my sanity. At least I have to be honest for myself…
I like the word mediocre. That is the right word to describe the graduates!