Ethics and Values

Dr. M Rashmi
Department of Social Sciences
VIT University, Vellore

Lecture – 51
Examination Malpractice

Hello friends. Welcome back to the lectures. We were discussing about the issue of stealing
in the previous lecture and now, we are going to discuss another interesting problem which is
examination malpractice. Somewhere, while writing examination we might have experienced
the temptation to copy or to do any form of malpractice. Some of you might have already
experienced the temptation and indulged into such malpractices but I am sure there would be
people who surpassed this temptation and refrained from doing any form of examination
malpractice.

Examination malpractice is defined as any deliberate act of wrong doing, contrary to the rules
of examinations designed to give a candidate an undue advantage. Examination malpractice
also known as cheating is the illegal action that students take during their examinations to try
to get good grades by cutting corners. Examination malpractice can also be defined as an act
or irregular manner of testing candidates which disobeys the rules and conventions guiding
the conduct of examinations. Examination malpractice has done a lot of harm to students
since many of them have neglected their books and instead of using their productive time in
studies, they would sometimes indulge in the preparations for the successful conduct of the
malpractice, with the hope of performing the magic they are used to in every examination.

It is any illegal act committed by a student single handedly or in collaboration with others
like fellow students, parents, teachers, supervisors, invigilators, or anybody before, during or
after examination in order to obtain undeserved marks or grades.

Some of the forms of examination malpractice include:

Leakage: This means that the content of examination or part of it is disclosed prior to taking
the examination. Usually it involves one or more people like the staff members of the
examination authorities, proof readers, and messengers.

Impersonation: An individual who is not registered as a candidate for a particular

Smuggling of Foreign Materials: This is perhaps the most common form of malpractice. It
relates to the introduction of unauthorized materials like parts or whole note books, text
books into the examination hall. These materials are frequently smuggled in pants, shoes,
hems or deposited or fixed in the hall prior to the examination or even smuggled in by the
candidates or their aids during the examination.

Copying: Copying from another candidate’s work with or without permission.

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Collusion: Unauthorized passing of information between candidates usually by exchanging
notes or scripts. This is usually facilitated by inadequate spacing between desks and lazed
supervision.

Makers Malpractice: this involves a deliberate alteration of marks designed to inflate or

Then we have other severe forms of examination malpractice like the allotment of
examination centre, appointment of invigilating staff, bribing/influencing/terrorizing
examination staff, invigilators and paper setters or examiners, possessing cheating material
which can be written, printed or an electronic device or copying from such material. Even
giving or receiving assistance to copy in an examination centre is also malpractice. I must
also mention that disclosing one’s identity in answer books, if they are not told to, can also be
considered as a malpractice.

Now what causes malpractice in examinations? Well, the reasons can be many.

It can start with a wrong value system which gives priority to certification instead of
knowledge and skills. Laziness, lack of preparation or in-adequate preparation for
examination, lack of self-confidence, poor school facilities like unavailability of an adequate
examination hall and poor sitting arrangement, socio-economic factors, privatization and
commercialization of education, poor invigilation, weak parental function and peer pressure
are some of the reasons which motivate someone to indulge in such unethical activities.

Laziness or lack of preparation can be induced due to the disinterest towards the subject or
may be due to improper study habits or a disciplined life style, which is usually expected
from students. We have socio-economic factors like societal expectations, parental pressure,
increasing competition due to privatization and commercialization; poor financial conditions
and need to get employed for aiding financial circumstances can also act as contributing
factors.

Now, lets look at the consequences of examination malpractice.

The consequences of examination malpractice both to education and the society will be
catastrophic in the long run for candidates and students who instead of working hard to pass
examination would depend on such malpractices. This will affect the quality of candidate
obtained after conducting an examination as they might qualify the examination without
genuinely testing their knowledge and expertise.

Examination malpractice increases lack of confidence among students. Students who would
have ordinarily passed an examination feel disappointed and lose confidence when less
intelligent ones perform better than them through cheating, thus leading to loss of confidence
in themselves and in the examination and the system at large. This will in turn discourage
good candidates from studying hard and also deny opportunities of admission for deserving
candidates. It can even delay the process of examination, if any such cases of malpractice are
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reported. So, just imagine how it would feel if after studying for a long time and after writing
examination with all effort, you come to know that the results have been cancelled due to
malpractice and then, you have reappear for the test. You know, it delays the entire process
and causes waste of time and energy. This can cause dissatisfaction in a deserving candidate
and also, affect job efficiency if non-deserving candidates get the job.

Just imagine, what if the doctor that you visit has got the job only through malpractice?

What would be condition of the patients? Suppose a candidate became an engineer by bribing
the examination board, and by spending a lot of money. So, after getting a job their first
intention would be only to attain all that money spent through corruptive activities.

What would be quality of the buildings they construct? So, please realize that anyone who
engages in examinations malpractice is building on a false foundation which can lead to
serious professional errors.

Now, let’s have a reflection spot. From the following options, identify the impact of
examination malpractice.

a) Poor sitting arrangement

b) Privatization

c) Loss of self confidence

d) Peer pressure

If you have any doubt, listen to my lecture again. I hope you have got the right answer which
is option c, loss of self-confidence. Yes, low self-confidence also provokes students to
indulge in examination malpractice but the question was to identify from the options given
and the rest of the options clearly depict the causes of examination malpractice.

So, my dear friends! if you can’t face a test all by yourself, then, the test is not yours to take. I
hope you have clearly understood the meaning of my words.

Thank you and bye.