Teachers warned about posting students’ exam mistakes online

The Ministry of Education has warned teachers that it will take action against them if they make fun of the examination mistakes of pupils on social networking websites.

This comes in the wake of reports that some teachers had photographed the “silly” mistakes of their elementary pupils from their science examination papers and then posted these as jokes on the Internet, according to a local newspaper.

The ministry has stated that any teacher found guilty of this behavior would be transferred to a desk job.

Hina Beig, an English as a Second Language (ESL) teacher at Al-Manarat International School, Girls Section, said this was unacceptable behavior. “I totally condemn and disagree with such actions by a teacher,” said Beig.

“A teacher should never disclose a student’s exam answers because this is a matter of trust.”

Beig said that it was okay if students poked fun at each other on public platforms but not for teachers to do this to their students. “It is certainly not good teaching technique,” said Beig.

She said teachers would be “failing in their duties” if they thought these actions would stop students from making mistakes.

Many students think that while some of the mistakes may be funny, they can also be humiliating for the students involved. They believe that any discussions on examination papers should be limited to the classroom and forums involving parents.

Shaahida Nizar, who is currently writing her International General Certificate of Secondary Education (IGCSE) examinations in Jeddah, said: “As a student, that would be really embarrassing and annoying.”

“The teacher probably thinks that it’s just a joke but then again, it’s the teacher’s job to correct and help students when they make mistakes instead of using them to get more likes on Facebook,” Nizar added.

Mushni Ahmed, a Master in Business Administration (MBA) student, thinks that this behavior is disrespectful and an abuse of power.