Farcical Article: "CHEATS: FRIEND OR FOE?"

CHEATS: FRIEND OR FOE?                                                            -Shraddha Acharya 

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Back in 1940, only 20 percent of college students admitted to cheating during their academic careers. Today, that number has increased to a range of 75%-98%. (Source: Education-portal.com)

‘Cheats’ have become one of the most downloaded words in student’s e-mind. Students’ mind is no less proficient than the electronics when it comes to the functioning of their cheating skills. The acts of cheating contrived and even promulgated by the students themselves have made the teachers quite perplexed by making them question to own self as “Are we their teachers or are they ours?” A student when asks his friend to pick his fallen pen during the exam hours, it’s not only the pen that is being picked, but it’s also the poor fellow’s answers that are being picked up. “Excuse me, madam, can I get additional answer sheets?” doesn’t this make us think that the student has written quite a lot? But before trusting his fakeness, it’s smart to check where his eyes are, by the time the invigilator signs his additional sheets.

Making cheats on palm, cardboard, calculator, stationery box etc have become demoded. When the exams are over and you give your uniform for washing, what does your mom get out of your shirts collar, inside your socks, pants and even sometimes inside your singlet? They’re the cheats, the so-called most necessary success tool on the planet of this era. Also, when your dad sees you tearing pages of your guide books, without any guilt you feel like saying, “Daddy, guide books have guided me enough, now the store room needs them.” Poor daddy can never figure out what this store is, but you clearly know that this larder of cheats is none other than your own college wash rooms. This can possibly be one of the reasons why a student goes to the loo so frequently during exam hours.

According to the recent cheating statistics hoarded by a source, NoCheating.org, following
conclusions has been derived:

· Cheating typically begins in middle school

· Nine out of ten middle scholars admit to copying someone else's homework; two-thirds say they have cheated on exams

· Cheating most often occurs in science and math classes

· 75%-98% percent of college students surveyed each year admit to cheating at some time in their academic careers

· The college students who are most likely to cheat are engineering and business majors

No matter how strict the invigilator is, the students are able to gain at least one-third of their marks through cheats. Methods of cheating may be more vast and entangled than what had been tried so far but no matter which method we use, we are cheating and that’s the truth. According to a recent survey by the Josephson Institute of Ethics of 12,000 high school students, 74% admitted to cheating on an exam at some point during the past year to get ahead. (Source: www.josephsoninstitute.org)

Cheats can never be our friend; they are always our foe that never wants us to achieve fair successes in our lives. If we are still trying to make cheats as our friend, no doubt, without qualms we are acting as foe to our future. We might deceive our teachers through cheats but do we know that every moment we are being deceived by it?

That might be quite sweltering task for us to avoid cheats but it will at least console us that whatever marks we have attained is only by our efforts but not by the effort of these evil cheats.