Academic Dishonesty

gs454236@gmail.com (Basil Labib) — Sun, 05 Sep 2021 11:50:44 +0530

Today is September 5th which is celebrated as Teacher’s Day in India on the birth anniversary of Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, an eminent educator, teacher and the first Vice President of India. As Indian students reach out to pay respect to their teachers via various gestures such as feet embracing albeit digitally this year, I wish to take this opportunity to speak about a much graver issue in the Indian education scenario today.

It is not unknown how the past two years have been an agonizing experience for teachers in educational insititutes. It is commendable how they have adapted themselves to the rapid demands of the new online paradigm during the pandemic. But there is an elephant in the room that apparently nobody wants to address. The breakdown of conventional testing mechanisms have led to rampant academic dishonesty amongst students in the untested domain of online assessment which have been adopted largely due to the lack of a better alternative. The most common excuses given by senior students, even good ones are: “It isn’t serious” or “I’ll study later”. I am in a particularly qualified position to speak because I have been on that side of the computer screen, safely tucked away from the sight of that one poor invigilator who has to remotely monitor a pack of thirty or so tech-savvy teenagers and simultaneously ward off network and technological issues on their part. And I know how tempting and easy it is to be dishonest in such a setting.

What educators must see is the immense damage it is doing and has done to our economy. As I believe I have said before, this pandemic is about to draw to a close due to minimally effective vaccination campaigns and the populace is inching towards herd immunity. But the real damage of this will not be felt in the next year or so, it will be felt a decade from now when this academically deprived, skill-less workforce will be asked to lead the nation. What kind of treatment would we expect from the doctors of the pandemic who have casually copied material from all over the internet and passed assessment. Where is the passion to actually understand something and not spend hours watching YouTube resting assured in the belief that the project can be copied from the internet? The effort made by students is gone. There is no driving force except the fear of not getting credits which they are sure they can.

This is a frontier on which the government, educators and the teachers have been ghastly ineffective. Academic disparity exists and it will compound. Imagine the subsequent degradation of quality as junior school children now, who cannot read alphabets or perform basic mathematical calculations are asked to assimilate more advanced learning material. How will they cope? And more importantly, how will India recuperate from its state of lethargy and denial?

Remembering My Teachers

gs454236@gmail.com (Basil Labib) — Sun, 05 Sep 2021 10:20:28 +0530

“The right kind of education begins with the educator, who must understand himself and be free from established patterns of thought; for what he is that he imparts. If he has not been rightly educated, what can he teach except the same mechanical knowledge on which he himself has been brought up?”
~J Krishnamurti

NR Narayan Murthy, the founder of Infosys, recounted three incidents in his life that taught him core human values and left an indelible mark on him. The first was when his senior school Chemistry teacher taught him the difference between community and personal property and how to treat each of them. Second was the quest for global excellence in whatever one chooses to do by his meticulous and obssessed engineering prof and finally the importance of starting any transaction on a zero base by his boss at IIM-A. These are incredible life lessons and as I sat pondering how my tryst with teachers have played out, I found myself reaching for my diary. I am privileged to write that I have learned many things from them – both inside the textbook and outside.

Everybody gets a degree but few people change the world and it is my strong conviction that such influences must originate outside the syllabus. It must originate in sincere and passionate dialogue between two willing individuals, one willing to share their wisdom and another desperate to learn.

I remember two teachers in my 5th and 6th grade respectively who encouraged me and played a seminal role in sparking my imagination. The malleable time when the mind of a child is so supple that it can be moulded by hands. And they encouraged me. I remember I made an elaborate robot out of cardboard inspired by an anime called Little Battlers’ Experience . I remember designing it for hours and sitting on my terrace measuring, cutting, gluing. I don’t even know where she is right now.

Then, I designed an evaporator for separating mixtures and built it in 6th grade. Studies weren’t so oppressing and I had time back then. There weren’t a thousand things to consider, no games to play with people and life was full of possibilities (Don’t get me wrong, they still are. Only that now the possibilities have shifted, they are more practical and nuanced). Thank you, Monisha ma’am.

I believe it was 9th grade Biology class when I asked Taniya ma’am about the behavior of parasites and how I felt it was unfair and she simply said, “Basil, many things in life are unfair”.

In 11th grade Chemistry lab, I learnt that it is important to ask questions, even silly questions, no matter how great I become, no matter my reputation. In fact that is the only way to truly learn and grow, to be ruthlessly humble. And I thank Maity sir for teaching me that.

Dead Teachers

It is funny how I have teachers who I cannot meet even if I wanted to because they are long dead. They are the authors of innumerable books that have shaped my psyche and conscience and become a part of it. As I have read their words, I have felt more close to them than I have to few acquaintances in real life. I thank you all. I really do.

The greatest of teachers

And why should I just express my formality and thank people? I thank you, life. For teaching me so much and I’m looking forward to learning so much from you. I thank you for making me laugh and making me cry. All those nights of gloom and few bright days. All the opportunities I missed and those I yielded. All friends I made, all friends I lost. All mistakes I committed. I thank you for it all.

Education on Basil Labib

Academic Dishonesty

Remembering My Teachers

Dead Teachers

The greatest of teachers