Teachers found violating rules, helping students

KUWAIT CITY, May 29: After the case of cheating and leaking of high school exam papers during the first semester, which is still pending at the courts, a new case of mass cheating was discovered during the second semester exams at a secondary school in the Hawally Educational Zone, reports Al- Qabas daily. According to informed sources, the Ministry of Education has decided to completely exclude the administration of a secondary school and all its teachers from invigilating the exams after information was received about mass cheating among the students of the tenth and eleventh grades in the school.

They revealed a state of alert in the Hawally educational district, indicating that a full committee consisting of about 75 teachers from various secondary and intermediate schools in the Hawally Educational Zone was formed to take up the task of monitoring and supervising the remaining exams in the school. An extensive investigation was opened to find out the circumstances and take legal measures against those whose involvement has been proven in facilitating cheating in the school. The sources explained that the secondary stage superintendent in the Hawally Educational Zone made a surprise visit on Thursday to the school, as it informed the educational zone director about the presence of a state of chaos and laxity within the examination committees, as well as teachers were seen practicing exam-related violations. Observers in the committees were teachers of the test subject itself, which is an explicit violation of the prevailing regulations. It also failed to record malpractice reports against students who were caught red-handed with rivets and various cheating tools. The educational zone had previously received several complaints against the school as it violated examination and invigilation regulations.

The matter was finally investigated, specifically the first semester of the current year. Directives were issued to withdraw the powers of the school administration and all employees, and to assign an external committee to carry out the management tasks and monitor the upcoming exams for the tenth and eleventh grades of the secondary school. The technical guidance in the educational zone will be used to supervise the correction work.

The sources said they expect the extensive investigations, which are to be conducted by the educational zone’s legal affairs department, to reveal tampering with the students’ grades, “especially the grades for oral work, and the non-conformity of the observed grades with the grades of the continuous assessment tests in most sections of the academic subjects.”