Selected article About Cheating

Students: Exam Answers Widely Available

Students said more answer sheets were widely available on the eve of the final day of the 12th grade exams in Phnom Penh Wednesday, and even a Ministry of Education official overseeing the tests conceded that his own son had gotten his hands on an answer sheet.

Large clusters of high school students could be seen queuing up outside photocopying shops in Phnom Penh Tuesday evening to reproduce leaked question and answer sheets before the next day’s exams.

The Cambodian Independent Teachers’ Association urged the ministry not to recognize the exam results for geography on Wednesday and for the Khmer-language composition exam on Monday were widely available to students.

“The MOEYS must not recognize the examination result since two subjects were leaked, “ CITA President Rong Chhun said. "The ministry must reorganise the examinations."

Rong Chhun accused Ministry of Education officials of leaking the answer sheets. "Those officials sold the questions. The ministry should question the examination's committee," he said.

Soy Yen, who oversaw the three-day, multi-disipline exams sat by more than 50,000 students across Cambodia, said he had not witnessed any cheating.

He added that unscrupulous businessmen had sold cheat sheets to students, but said they did'not contain information that appeared in the exams.

"The environment is better than last year," he said, adding that it can be tough for proctors to detect cheating. "[Students] say quiet when we watch them, " he said.

Soy Yen said this son bought answer sheets in advance of the exams, but siad they did not correspond with the questions that came up/

"I didn't encourage him to buy de answer sheets but he told me de answer sheets were not correct," Soy Yen said.

It was difficult for students to bring their answer sheets into the classrooms as there were guards stationed outside the schools, he added.

One proctor at Hun Sen Bun Rany Wat Phnom Primary School, which hosted some of the exams, said he made $25 from students who paid him to ignore cheating.

He added that he feared that if he did not accept the bribes, the students would physically assult him after the tests. " I was afraid for my own security, " he claimed.

He also said that if his students had been unable to cheat, their prospect in the test would hav been bleak.

"If they don't look at the answer sheets, they will fail 100-percent," he said.

What do u think? Any comments on this topic?

Ref: Whole copy from Cambodia Daily, Tuesday, August 10, 2006