How cheating in exams hurts society

Once again, it is the dawn of another period of celebrations and gloom for parents and their children who sat the 2015 Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) examinations, whose results were released Wednesday.

The perennial problem of examination irregularities does not seem to be going away. If anything, it is worsening, with the perpetrators becoming bolder with time. It is apparent that involvement in examination cheating is emerging as a growth industry in Kenya.

And why not, with people reported to be paying as much as Sh10,000 per examination paper. People are making a killing out of impropriety in the examinations management. But my concern today is not with that flawed process of examinations management.

I am concerned with something more fundamental: The obsession with examination grades at the expense of learning and mastery of knowledge, skills, values and attitudes that are the objectives of education.

I have previously urged Kenyans through other fora to view education beyond marks and grades, and try to address the total person who emerges from the education process.

Of what use to society is an educated person? What are his/her roles in society, and what processes prepare people to effectively play those roles?

These are questions that not only concern societies around the world, but are actually being grappled with on a daily basis. This matter particularly takes a centre stage now than ever before in view of the perceived link between certifications and access to material wealth.

In a world that is becoming increasingly materialistic, the end appears to justify the means until one remembers that education is, strictly speaking, not a private good. Educated people serve society. The quality of education will therefore be reflected in the quality of public service delivery in any society.

Education defines the quality of life of all members of the society through the quality of public services. Questions have been raised as to why there does not appear to be a direct link between the numbers of people who leave our institutions of learning annually, and improvement of living standards of Kenyans.

If you were doubting, it is a reflection of the quality of our education. We are more preoccupied with grades than the the functional knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values that can positively transform society.

Global trends in education point to general weakening of the grip on educational standards, systematically giving way to unrelenting pursuit of material trappings. The reinvigoration of the stock exchanges, hedge funds and real estate investments as avenues for quick buck, has redefined education around the world.

The narrative of young billionaires without college education has become very attractive to young people in schools and colleges who now question the overpriced premium on higher education. But still, those who view education as the only equalizer in society are bent on pursuing it at all costs.

They can go to any length to ensure their children access this commodity as a means of liberation out of debilitating poverty, and for social stratification and prestige. Now, this is where the devil lies in the detail.

A society such as Kenya that defines education in terms of a grading system must ensure that the processes that lead to those grades are water tight, lest we lose the link between ability and grades. Grades should reflect ability. People are more interested in what you can do rather than what your certificates carry.

If our system inadvertently encouraged grades over knowledge, and people engage in impropriety to obtain high grades, then the so-called educated people become a curse rather than blessing to society.

They carry certificates that are not worth the papers on which they are printed. Their knowledge is useless, and cannot be applied anywhere in the world. Besides, it is an indictment on the education system in a country, and its products are given a wide berth globally. That's the reality.

Cheating in exams must therefore, be routed out of all our institutions of learning at all levels.