How tech gadgets are helping students cheat in BISE Lahore exam?

LAHORE (Staff Report) - Two Intermediate examination paper have been leaked online in recent weeks, putting temptation in the way of unscrupulous students and examiners.

The process of Intermediate Annual Examination 2016 in Punjab was clouded in controversy last week when English exam due to be taken by more than half a million pupils was leaked.

The crisis deepened after it was revealed that an image of the question paper was made available online through a mobile phone application, WhatsApp.

Sources told Daily Pakistan the paper was made available to students at a price of Rs10,000.

The education board officials launched an investigation into the leak after which the paper came into the possession of unknown number of students.

Related: CM Shehbaz orders inquiry over Intermediate Paper leak

Police registered an FIR against unknown persons on Wednesday, after Punjab CM Shehbaz Sharif sought a report from the Higher Education department over the paper leak.

According to an official of the Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Lahore, unidentified individuals had obtained and shared pictures of the question paper from the examination center.

“An FIR has been lodged against unidentified culprits at the Civil Lines police station,” the statement said.

It was however unclear whether the BISE will now invalidate the ‘contaminated’ exam or not.

A similar incident happened two days ago in Karachi on May 9 when Intermediate Part-II Mathematics question paper was leaked prior to the exam.

While cheating has long been a problem in Pakistani schools and colleges, the use of social media has taken the illegal practice to a whole new plane.

Cheating or using unfair means in exam is strictly prohibited in the country’s education system. From a young age, Pakistanis are taught to be polite, tolerant, respectful, and to avoid confrontation.

But educators say cheating has flourished because of an education system that makes exam scores the only criterion for assessing a student's ability and granting admission into places of higher learning.

This is why cheating is gaining trend in Pakistan. And it seems there's no end to the lengths students will go to achieve grades.