EXAM CHEATS

THREE invigilators supervising students writing the CXC mathematics examination at Tranquillity Government Secondary school in Port of Spain on Wednesday have been fired after a video on social media showed students using their cell phones to WhatsApp the answers to each other.

In the video, no invigilator was present in the room, while students were seen walking around and talking. The Education Ministry issued a statement yesterday after Newsday alerted Education Minister Anthony Garcia to the video on Wednesday. The minister said then that he did not know about the video.

The invigilators were later dismissed after what the ministry deemed as “inadequate supervision at the examination centre.” Newsday understands the ministry’s permanent secretary met with them yesterday morning. Garcia said this was the first time since he became minister that he has come across a situation like this.

“I am concerned that a student had a phone in the classroom and was able to videotape what was happening and even WhatsApp pages of the exam. This was clearly a case of the invigilators not doing their job.”

Asked what was the next step, Garcia said the ministry had written to the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) in Barbados, which holds ownership of the exam.

CXC TO
DECIDE

“We have written to CXC and we have explained the situation. They will conduct their own investigation and decide on what course of action they will take regarding the students.”

Second vice president of the TT Unified Teachers’ Association (TTUTA) Kyrla Robertson-Thomas said this was the first time in her career she has seen this behaviour. “My son told me about it and I said, ‘Lord, social media is going to kill society,’ they are not even bright enough to know they are not even supposed to make a video about this scenario.”

She said invigilators did not fall under TTUTA and were usually private citizens who were either unemployed or employed with a job that allowed them to do this seasonal work. She added that teachers could not be invigilators, especially at their own schools.

Robertson-Thomas said ads were placed and those who met the requirements were selected and trained. She said the ministry has to do a thorough investigation to ensure the paper was not shared by other students in other schools where they could share questions and answers.

STUDENTS
AT RISK

She could not say how CXC will treat with the issue, and whether the students involved will be allowed to rewrite another exam.

“I don’t know if they can, because the rules-of-examination protocol states if a device is used, you can be debarred. The ministry has to ensure that this did not reach outside that group of students. Otherwise there could be other people in that pool being disbarred.

“There are rules and parameters and certain checks that need to be done. You have to check even the wristwatches now. Nothing digital should be allowed in there. You are supposed to have an analogue watch and nothing that could store data. We have all kind of devices now that can do that.

“All over the world there are people finding ingenious ways to cheat, and it has reached TT now.” She said it was apparent that proper checks were not done. “I remember in my day you were just allowed to come in with a pencil.

“Something clearly went wrong in that school, horribly wrong. What this speaks to is that our young people are not learning moral ethics and values, because not one of them went outside and said, ‘I will not be part of this,’ or reported it to a teacher.”