For an old guard in the system, talking about exam cheating doesn’t tickle a single bit. Surprisingly the moment you join an institution of higher learning you find the tricks have changed or rather improved. That’s why it would sound stale to comment on the colossal exam cheating in Kenyan campuses.
“Degree ni Harambee”, this is the trending motto that works miracles for unprepared students as they take their examinations. The current age has been so polluted that very few, if not none, would hesitate to employ a backdoor mechanism "to achieve excellence.” Consequently, credibility of a degree today is questionable.
One Professor M.S. Mukras has braved the situation and gone miles to publish a book over the same. In his book, "Examination Cheating and Credibility of University Degrees," he attempts to slay the dragons of sexually transmitted grades (STG), ethnically transmitted grades (ETG), smuggling of Mwakenya into examination rooms, plagiarism and freelance assignment/thesis project helpers for their roles in providing fertilizer to the ‘evil crop’ of university exam cheats. For a moment I can say the book reveals a lot that I didn’t know before. Maybe this also equips me with new mechanisms on how it is done, so much so that I am tempted to try them…oops!
Despite the concise and well-articulated issues in the book, it is bound to rub some university authorities the wrong way. Why? Some lecturers thought the subject, at least aspects of the book, were taboo. Prof. Mukras says the bold move and ‘double-edged sword’ perceptions has had some lecturers whom he respects very much give the product a cold reception.
But when it comes to the recommendations given by the book to further curb this, it’s another pinch of pain for those “of us” who can’t do without cheating. Okay, the word cheating is a little thorny. Let me rephrase; for those of us who require a little generosity/help to make it through the academic realm. The stiff exam rules, regulations and penalties for offenders and moral decontamination of university examination processes might be too much for a weaker soul.
Whereas many undergraduates have offered their thumbs-up for a great work of art and intellectual mining, some post-graduate students fear the author may have done too much skulduggery by unmasking those hell-bent on chasing after ‘freelance project helpers’! Though the book is an indictment of all those who left what initially appeared to be a benign tumour to acquire cancerous forms, it opens a whole world of opportunity to address the problem of cheating comprehensively, as well as exposing an exciting topic for future research. Reading the book and allowing debate on its contents would, ultimately, restore the confidence of parents, financiers and employers in university education. No wonder many universities are demanding to have the title in their libraries, irrespective of the heat it generates.
There you are! I just hope the Ministry of Education doesn’t come across this piece of literature because the moment it does, many tyrannies are going to crumble. Let it stretch its long arm when I am done with my graduation. That’s my solemn prayer. I call it “Peeling Back the Mask – Varsity Version”. What a revelation!
Original review done by Obote Akoko (The Standard Newspaper)
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