Exam fraud symptomatic of corrupt mentality<\/p>\n
By Mochtar Buchori<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): One small news item slipped by amid the barrage
\nof daily news on the hunt for alleged communist "provocateurs"
\nfollowing the recent riots here.<\/p>\n
This was the news about 1,405 students who were caught
\ncheating in the recent entrance tests for state universities.<\/p>\n
Those caught cheating constitute just a tiny fraction, 0.39
\npercent, of the total number of 357,452 students. To me, however,
\nthe problem is not merely quantitative, but qualitative, a
\nproblem of character and morality.<\/p>\n
Cheating happens not only in school exams. It is committed in
\nother, more serious spheres of life. Corruption and collusion are
\nother forms of cheating. Lying is also cheating. And abuse of
\npower, especially the power of the state, is a very serious and
\ndangerous form of cheating.<\/p>\n
What is cheating?<\/p>\n
The general meaning of cheating is "to act dishonestly" or "to
\ncommit fraud". Cheating in an exam and committing corruption or
\ndisseminating false information are all dishonest acts. It is no
\ncoincidence to me that during a time when corruption is rampant
\nin society, and lying is considered "in the line of duty"-- that
\nexams are also affected.<\/p>\n
There was a time when cheating in school was considered such a
\nshameful act that those caught were immediately expelled. But
\nthat time seems to be gone.<\/p>\n
Cheating is considered by many students an art, and a sport.
\nCheating is seen as the art of beating the system. The smarter
\nyou are, the more daring your fraud, and the bigger the system
\nthat you are trying to beat. Thus Eddy Tansil is considered much
\nsmarter and more daring than those who just steal millions of
\nrupiah from their offices. The latter are just corrupt officials.<\/p>\n
The question is how to deal with the problem. To turn a blind
\neye on such practices is certainly wrong; it is illegal, and
\nunethical. Yet to fight such practices is hard. Just look at
\nthose crusaders against corruption in Italy, Mexico, Columbia,
\nand Bolivia. They became martyrs. Only in South Korea have
\nattempts to fight corruption achieved a degree of success.<\/p>\n
Does that mean, then, that the fight against cheating is
\nhopeless?<\/p>\n
I don't think so. The trick is, I think, that we should not
\ntreat cheating only as a general moral issue. Every type of
\ncheating is an institutionalized act of dishonesty. Each has its
\nown institutional base and context. Cheating in school is
\ndifferent to cheating in domestic affairs or cheating in
\nbusiness. Thus if we want to wage a serious fight against
\ncheating, corruption, and abuse of power, we have to take each of
\nthese dishonest acts separately, and devise a separate strategy
\nfor combating each one of them.<\/p>\n
Cheating in entrance exams by hiring jockeys is based on the
\nassumption that everything can be bought in Indonesia. Those who
\ncommit the same crime without the help of jockeys think -- this
\nis just what I suspect -- that cheating is harmless, and does not
\nconstitute a transgression against anything.<\/p>\n
It is different from stealing money. If you get caught while
\ncheating in an exam, well, it is just bad luck! If you get away
\nwith it, and pass the exam, it is good luck! Life is a matter of
\nluck. Life is a gamble anyway. Such is the view of those who
\ncheat in exams.<\/p>\n
How can we prevent our children from thinking like this?<\/p>\n
In addition to those classical prescriptions about implanting
\nmorality in our children's minds, additional measures are
\nnecessary.<\/p>\n
We must make our children learn the following things:
\n-- studying can be fun.
\n-- studying is rewarding.
\n-- the purpose of studying is not to pass an exam, but to acquire
\nknowledge which is then tested. Thus passing an exam should be
\nconsidered a byproduct of learning, not its main aim.<\/p>\n
This looks simple, but is not. Especially if we have to deal
\nwith children whose family life is not conducive to learning or
\nstudying.<\/p>\n
Inculcating such views about school life and developing
\nattitudes based on such views requires a big dose of educational
\ninnovation. The tradition in almost all schools has been to study
\nfor grades, to study for diplomas, to study for academic degrees.
\nChanging from these traditional views to new views where grades,
\ndiplomas, and degrees are treated as byproducts means
\nrevolutionizing traditional practices in schools.<\/p>\n
This will be very difficult, but it is not impossible. It can
\nbe done. And even if we only partially succeed, the reward will
\nbe big enough. The reward will be the gradual shift from studying
\nbased on nominal motives to studying based on intrinsic motives,
\non the need to satisfy a thirst for new knowledge.<\/p>\n
Seen within the context of existing educational paradigms this
\nis a revolutionary change. It is this kind of motivation that
\nmakes people keep studying even after the period of formal
\neducation is over. It is this kind of motivation that makes
\npeople demand new information, new knowledge, and new wisdom.
\nThis mentality is the antidote to the corrupt mentality at the
\nbase of every form of cheating.<\/p>\n
The big question is whether we have enough educators in our
\nschools who can still see clearly the historical assignment they
\nhave to shoulder: helping their students become a new generation
\nof Indonesians who love learning and abhor cheats.<\/p>\n
The writer is an observer of social and cultural affairs.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/exam-fraud-symptomatic-of-corrupt-mentality-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }