PaanLuel Wël Media Ltd – South Sudan

"We the willing, led by the unknowing, are doing the impossible for the ungrateful. We have done so much, with so little, for so long, we are now qualified to do anything, with nothing" By Konstantin Josef Jireček, a Czech historian, diplomat and slavist.

Corruption in the making: The leaking of national examination question papers

Legitimization of unethical leaking of national exams question papers, and why it is a complete professionalization of corruption in making!!!

By Dut Kuot Akok, Aweil, South Sudan

Wednesday, February 6, 2019 (PW) — We are living in a country where the rate of illiteracy is excessively high compared to other backwards nation, yet, we seldom care about such an essential issue!  We all pursue degree/certificate with the sole purpose of enabling us get luxurious jobs with NGOs or to be accommodate in some powerful Government institutions by our uncles, in-laws or close associates.

This primitive perception is the problem we don’t want to study or understand the true meaning of acquiring education. Apparently, there is a vast difference between education and literacy, realistically, not all literate people are educated if you can thoroughly examine the misdeeds and negative attitudes/behaviors of our so-called educated intellectuals in the contemporary south Sudan.

Hence, the perspective had encouraged a large number of our people with uniform dream of getting a good job after obtaining a degree/certificate. This had entirely legitimized the undertaking of unethical and illegal ways to obtain degree/certificate via malpractice and villainous fraudulent in multiple learning institutions across the country. The practice is the reason the nefarious syndicates are able to take advantage by conducting theirs vested interests in leaking out our national exams questions papers to the children of fat-cat and their close associates.In fact, there are a lot of qualify students as well as the mediocre and poor students in term of education who are not consciously aware about their future and thus, they fall for such traps.  This malpractice in reality should be given absolute consideration in combating it by the responsible body since the practice is unethical spreading out of future specialized corrupt cadres to our society day by day with crystal negative consequences on our present generation in term of productivity in future time.

Students who are passing their exams by help of leaked question papers are cheating themselves as well as the nation at large. First of all, they are passing exams without studying and getting good results, while talented students are facing real hardship in their respective centers since they have no uncles to pay massively for the on sell exams. This is completely unbecoming and it is as well an absolute form of discrimination, it is it because unethical practitioners are getting luxurious jobs in some vital sectors where there is a need for qualified personnel due to their high percentage they did obtained via fraud in national exams or sometime in university level.

In addition to being considered first in case of any chances for scholarship in abroad including their quick admission to public universities in accordance with their choices since they have percentages equivalent to the required percentages in various specialization or colleges compared to the discriminated children of my fellow indigent who are often admitted in departments or colleges not of their choices due to the lower percentages they do sweat for in national exams.

Examination actually does not only serve as a feedback for the trainer to ascertain the level of knowledge acquisition but also serve as a measure of knowledge retention by the trainee. Any misconduct or irregularity distorts this feedback mechanism and gives false outcomes of the learning process.

Currently, some of our mirage inept company of technical know who in the national ministry of general education are leaking out national exams question papers, on false account that they wants their sibling or states to be the leading in the national results or as a form of making money thus they have a lot of money to burn whom they accumulated via fraud in our national treasury. They are disgracefully practicing that unethical practice not knowing that their lousy blunder is a great destruction to the future of this beloved country.

Where will we recruit adept cadres to turn things around for the future prosperity of this nation? Or is the company trying to substantiate that they had failed in all fronts as is the case now? It is undeniable that the company level of ineptitude in the national ministry of general education has a lot of negative consequences on the future of this innocent nation. Their known malpractice had led to loss of credibility since our certificates are treated with suspicion as is the case in Sudan and Egypt.

Sincerely speaking, general moral decadence and the high premium placed on achievements and certificate as a measure of one’s knowledge and competency has led to a mad rush by most people for educational certificates through unethical means. The disjunction between culturally acclaimed goals and the institutionalized means of achieving these goals coupled with the cultural context of great emphasis on success goals without equivalent emphasis upon institutional means of obtaining these goals have created an environment that predispose some staff within the company of technical know who, students, teachers, parents and others to examination malpractice.

South Sudan today is characterized by a great emphasis on success and wealth without a corresponding emphasis on legitimate means and avenues to be used in achieving the success. The country currently has become like a commercial venture and not longer a place for selfless services towards country prosperity.

Educational system always strives to inculcate high level of discipline, diligence, moral love for others; to the recipients where examination is fraught with malpractice, all the essential feedback mechanism becomes defaulted and the educational system becomes distorted.  And with the current incompetency in the aforementioned ministry, fight against corruption will be realized when pigs fly in south Sudan since our future leaders would be well equipped through school system characterized by academic fraud and dishonesty, will certainly manifest this fraudulent behavior in any organization they will found themselves.

Those who cheated to pass examination will possibly cheat to get employed, generate wealth, have spouse and even to win election through electoral violence or other sharp malpractices. Perhaps, president Kiir’s lyric of ‘’zero tolerance to corruption’’ will be like the second coming of Jesus Christ according to the teaching of the Bible since he will be working with professional corrupt officials.

Between whiles, we have failed in all fronts but for the future sake, educational sector should be omitted from our various forms of corruption we are known of around the globe.

Currently, our minister whom the above mentioned unethical malpractice is under his stewardship should have resigned long time ago or to have been relieved if it was not because of our being in south Sudan with our lousy policy of accommodation thus we are incompetent and inactive as of now in the ministry.The system in fact in the said company of technical know who is a disgraceful destruction to the future of this country, they have shifted unprepared from our old curriculum of the former Sudan to the copy and paste curriculum of south Sudan when everything was not ready.

Now, teachers in secondary schools are both the references and teachers at ago, he/she has to see the contents within the guideline, makes his/her own research, summarize it and prepared his/her lesson plan to the learners since textbooks are said to be still in the flash in the office of the minister. In addition to everywhere poor teaching and learning environment, lack of well equipped teachers who do not have the necessary pedagogy to impart the contents to the learners, lack of viable teaching materials/equipments do completely substantiate their overall failures in the ministry.

All in all, we are living in a country where true always hurt, but above all, it is better to hurt you as an individual since we are not living in your island/garden.

Hence, this malpractice should be combat through promulgation and enforcement (prohibition) laws of examination malpractice if we wants to build bright future for our incoming generation. Yes there are many forms of examination malpractice ranging from collusion among the candidates, impersonation, giraffing, inscription and many others but, the worse one is the current practice of leaking out national examination question papers  to the candidates inasmuch as the above forms are succeeded by the intelligent students who have study brilliantly.

In conclusion, since education is the bedrock of every society development, any factor or malpractice that tarnished the outcomes of the learning process must be confront standstill by all the stakeholders in the ministries of general and higher education including the office of the president since the current professionals corrupt cadres would flood his government in some few years to come.

This unethical/villainous malpractice is a dangerous monster to the future prosperity of our milk and honey nation and therefore, it’s requires multidimensional approach for total annihilation. Development of any nation relies solely/wholly on its human resources, and human resources are refined to be productive through education with no malpractice of all kinds. Henceforth, eradicating examination malpractice which destroys human resources development should be taken as a complete out war.

Time to act towards national interest and development in lieu of our lousy attitudes of we have liberated you and our turns to eat while we are mere opportunist of yesterday. Know that in society where examination malpractice is predominant, its impact is visibly seen in the type of human resources the education system has produced. Both true and silent kills in south Sudan, therefore, it is up to you to choose the best alternative of your choice.

The writer can be reached via his Email address: dutkuot8@gmail.com.

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