We cannot close our eyes to cheaters
Let’s send a strong message that dishonesty will not be tolerated Nail poor role models and improve standards
I CANNOT stress the importance of exposing wrongdoing when it is encountered.
To quote the late US Senator and presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy: “Every time we turn our heads the other way when we see the law flouted, when we tolerate what we know to be wrong, when we close our eyes and ears to the corrupt because we are too busy or too frightened, when we fail to speak up and speak out, we strike a blow against freedom and decency and justice.”
That is, if those matriculants who sat for examinations in KwaZulu-Natal and the Easter n Cape are found to have cheated they should be punished. This may include being banned from writing matric for the next three years.
Officials found to be complicit in suspected mass cheating should face criminal charges, and invigilators found to have been complicit should face disciplinary inquiries and even dismissals. Of course there will be an appeal process for those found guilty.
Why such punishments? What they did was fraud and misrepresentation.
What purportedly happened was wrong, way wrong. As unsympathetic as it may sound, we want, as the Department of Basic Education, to protect the image and credibility of the matric certificate.
Those who cheated and those who assisted them were cheating themselves out of the lear ning they would have gained by putting forth the effort to learn and passing examinations honestly. They risk their chances for future success.
Cheating is the same as stealing or lying. That should not be condoned in our society. Why is it that thousands of alleged cheats, officials and invigilators who helped them, should believe that their personal ethics and morals are better than most? Think about the road after high school and university. As adults, we should face greater consequences for the actions we conduct.
Turning a blind eye on the cheats would mean that today’s teens and society in general are far too apathetic on matters of ethics. Some may say that I’m unsympathetic to their plight, and unfairly labelling our generation as troublemakers and that a three-year ban on writing matric is too harsh. But there’s no way around the fact that a lenient punishment, or no punishment at all, will mean that their ethics are a paragon of virtue.
True, temptations to cheat is great and the opportunities are ample, especially in today’s high tech society, but for the sake of a conscience – you know, that alleged paragon of virtue a majority teens believe they have – don’t cheat, steal or lie.
We are assailed on many fronts by problems that seem insurmountable and insoluble, and it’s easy to become discouraged. But so long as some of us strive to emphasise the need for honesty, we will raise a generation of ethical and honest future leaders.
The regulations allow us to hand down the three-year ban as a maximum penalty and that’s what we prefer in this instance. We could also declare the results of those found guilty null and void and ask them to write again and monitor them closely to avoid a repeat.
We could also ban them for a year or two but we want to send a very strong message that this practice will not be allowed and we therefore need to stamp it out once and for all.
Ethics, integrity and excellence should be the hallmark of building an ethical nation. We should never tolerate cheats. IT MAY have caused some outrage, but the Department of Education’s plan to ban cheating matrics from completing their matric for the next three years is reasonable.
Education is crucial to a nation’s development so nail all those who contribute to no education, are poor role models and show little dedication or focus.
Nail all teachers and students as individuals who have avoided hard work by cheating.
Get the systems in place that make it impossible to walk into a classroom and give answers to the students, make sure learners and parents and their teachers are prepared for the new year, and ready to build education that takes the nation forward.
I would suspend the teacher for life, the learners for maybe three years, but defer to investigators to find correctly.
Education has been down- graded. The great logistics of the department, the little drop in the pass rate, the new curriculum, are all forgotten. Yet there are many issues beyond cheating.
The department’s own annual national assessments show how badly South Africa is doing in maths and science. Counting or reading, we come in close to last.
So how do we compete or get skills we need, how do individuals get ahead? Better teaching of learners, more and more consistent parental involvement, are required.
Where do values come from if not communities?
So communities must fight gangs, raise their own children to go the extra mile and to be whole people and not expect the schools or government to do it all.
Teachers need to rise to the occasion, be more learner and less union-centred, and be the front line of liberation.
Education can do it, especially to end inequalities, but it needs to give opportunities to all.
This means a long haul and everybody to do their job.