APROPOS the letter ‘Cheating a right?’ (July 7). Examination malpractice is a common problem in our educational institutions. It threatens the very core of academic integrity. Students who indulge in cheating at the initial stage of their academic lives develop a long-term habit of cheating that continues during their higher studies.

The menace has expanded with the rise of social media which acts as a conduit for the distribution of unauthorised material during exams.

Students create WhatsApp groups for this purpose and teachers become a part of these groups, too. Digitalisation of cheating is a serious drawback of the internet.

What adds to the problem is the growing number of ghost teachers and schools in Balochistan despite the education emergency here. Most village schools are devoid of academic activity as teachers do not show up.

While an invigilator’s job is to maintain discipline in the examination hall, the most important roles in education are those of the parents’ and the government.

The former should warn their children against cheating, and the latter needs to work to ensure academic values are adopted at the grassroots level in the education process.

Qamar Ullah Roonjho

Lasbela

Published in Dawn, July 16th, 2018