Students practice academic dishonesty as a part of the new normal of education. Academic dishonesty or academic misconduct is any form of cheating done by people engaged within the academic environment but it is commonly used to refer to actions committed by students who go against the expected norms of an institution. The concept of academic dishonesty is as old as the system of education itself. However, with the recent shift of mode of learning from the traditional face-to-face setting to online distance learning, this moral issue found its ugly claws clutching tighter onto this new system of learning.
Although academic dishonesty has been around even during the traditional mode of learning, it is not as prevalent compared to the academic dishonesty now rampant in online education. Students who engage in academic dishonesty face grave consequences in face-to-face classes, which discourage them from committing the act. Aside from the humiliation, teachers would grievously reprimand students and may even receive a zero score when caught cheating. On the other hand, students in online classrooms would only get warnings or no penalties at all.
Hence, rather than doing their tasks with their efforts, students resort to cheating as it is a more convenient way of completing their tasks. Technology in online learning is now considered a tool that assists in the practice of academic dishonesty. Students can easily browse the Internet and “copy and paste” answers without giving credit to the rightful owner, which leads to plagiarism, one of the most common forms of cheating in the online learning environment. Yet, the most alarming form of academic dishonesty today in the online education setting is the unprecedented incidents of students letting someone else do their work assignments for them for a price.
In a report by Bonz Magsambol of Rappler on Feb. 2, it stated students enrolled in online learning, especially in college, are paying others to do the work for them. In fact, it even became a business for some. Through the use of different social media platforms, this type of academic dishonesty has been amplified. Students and other people advertise their services with corresponding prices using the keywords, #AcademicCommission, #AcademicService, or #EssayCommission on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
For junior and senior high school students, the “Sagot for sale” practice became the trend. Who wouldn’t want to pay a measly P100 for an essay if it would save you from getting an ‘F’ mark in your transcript of records? Maybe some would not fall for this, but most would. Besides, the transaction between the “assignment maker” and the student is confidential. No one would know, no one would ask questions, and no one gets caught; a win-win situation and an easy solution for students who claim to be stressed, have too much workload, or are just lazy. (JEMALYN G. TABERDO)
April 27, 2024
