I was taking tests from my students on the board yesterday. I called Sabarmeen to write the answer to the question on the blackboard. She wrote the answer appropriately and I appreciated her but suddenly noise arose in the classroom. Check her hand, check her hand. I checked her hand and was surprised because she had written cheating on her hand. It was not only the answer written on her hand but the saddest moment for me as a teacher. It forced me to think and write about this important issue.

After developing a friendly environment in my classroom, I collected responses from the students about reasons for cheating. Mostly students responded that they want to be appreciated by the teacher. Moreover, they are afraid of making mistakes. It raises another question in my mind why they are afraid of making mistakes in front of me? There is a great need to give awareness to the students that making mistakes is part of learning but not correcting mistakes is the real monster. When learning, students should not be scared to make mistakes. Progress-based evaluations are preferable to ones that exalt the outcomes while ignoring the steps that led up to them. Collaboration needs to be emphasized just as much as in-class competition.

Undoubtedly, a child’s first exposure to cheating and corruption occurs during the exams

in early assessments. What’s even more concerning is that students virtually never get punished

and get away with it. This feeds the idea that using unjust methods to achieve lofty objectives is acceptable, and the cycle never ends. Corruption spreads throughout society and becomes the norm.

I joined the Government sector as a Primary School teacher in 2019 and I have found a lot of such students and experiences in the classroom. The primary level is the backbone for all social, optimistic, moral, academic, ethical, emotional and behavioural development of learners in every society. As a Primary school teacher, I consider every teacher a fruitful agent for the platform of promoting the no cheating slogan which will further come under the umbrella of ‘say no to corruption’. Teacher awareness of how to prevent students from cheating at the primary level can positively impact students of early ages (five to twelve years). The Dream of transformation of our society will come true. These aware students will be the agents of transformation for our future generations.

Teacher is also a factor that has an impact on society. Our Focus on the memorization process rather than understanding is also one of the issues which promote corruption in the form of cheating in the education system. The teacher’s responsibility is not only to teach but also to create an environment where it is impossible to not learn. The only thing which matters in every society is the quest and enthusiasm for continuous learning. So as a teacher, we must bring out the best from children and open the doors to the ideology of no cheating in the process of learning. This no-cheating will become the backbone for developing corruption-free societies in our country.