Cheating in the secondary school leaving examinations is affecting learning among first-year students at the John Garang Memorial University of Science, and Technology, according to the dean of student affairs at the public university.
“Students do not want to sit exams based on what they know anymore; they always want to cheat,” said Lual Ngor, assistant professor.
About 300 high school graduates started classes at the higher learning institution in February – all of whom had not taken any university entry test.
Assistant Professor Lual Ngor says some of the freshers are having difficulty understanding course units.
He blames it on examination leakages, commonly known as “machot”.
“When they join university, it becomes a different level of knowledge because there is no ground for cheating and no compromises,” Ngor continued.
“And this makes it hard to go through with their courses, and resultantly sit a lot of complementary exams. At this rate, they can even be disqualified if they continue to fail.”
In 2021, the National Examinations Council denied allegations of exam leakages and other malpractices during the 2020 secondary school leaving examinations.
Prof Ngor advised students who find challenge in advancing their careers to opt for vocational training.
“They should enroll for adult education or technical schools like plumbing, metal work, and driving so that they become self-sustained,” he added.
The other public universities are: The University of Juba, the Upper Nile University, Bahr el Ghazal University, and Northern Bahr el Ghazal Polytechnic College of Public Health Science.
It is not yet clear if the first-year students at the other higher learning institutions are also facing difficulty grasping lectures at their respective classes.