SANGHAR, March 5: Cheating and use of unfair means has become a routine in the matriculation examinations.

This correspondent saw dozens of helpers assisting candidates at many a places.

A few years ago the candidates used to cheat on their own but now the trend has been institutionalized. Certain groups have emerged who help candidates cheat in an organized manner.

Through their contacts, they acquire question papers within 10 minutes after the commencement of examinations. They also have masterminds at their disposal to solve these papers and “sell” them at rates varying between Rs50 and 100 for a set of solved questions. For a “little more,” candidate can get these solved questions in the examination hall.

These groups compete fiercely for the early acquisition of the question papers to expedite their solution. To err is human, sometimes the people solving the question paper get the answers wrong and those copying from such papers fail en bloc.

Some teachers, who were concerned about the deteriorating education standard and tried to block cheating in examinations, were threatened and even manhandled by the booty mafia.

When this correspondent visited the Khatoon-e-Fatima High School, which has separate sections for girls and boys, parents, instead of condemning this trend, defended their wards by complaining about insufficient coaching available in the schools.

In many schools, they said, there were no teachers of physics, chemistry and English and those, who were teaching these subjects elsewhere, according to them, were incompetent.

They said that as the students had not gone through their entire subject courses, there was no way other than cheating to get through the examinations.

According to them even 20 attempts were insufficient for their wards to clear the matriculation examinations.

However, they praised the standard of education maintained by some of the private schools, saying they were doing better than the government schools.

But, they said most of the poor parents were unable to afford the exorbitant fees charged by these institutions.