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‘The first and worst of all frauds is to cheat one’s self. All sin is easy after that’

I got very poor grades in my Moral Science in school, so theoretically I flunked at the very beginning of starting out my life as a social animal, and hence the following article is not exactly certified by the Board for Secondary Education. But then this is a free country, I can do and say whatever I like and get away with it. So this time, I am merely jotting down my views on a very common occurrence of our lives. A thing that gained my interest very recently, when I had to sit down for half an hour with a friend of mine constantly whining about cheating in examinations.

I do not intend to take a stand, and spit fire at those involved in the highly skilled art of cheating. The article merely mentions some very key elements involved in the complex problem. The difficulty with any argument against such things is that it continuously revolves around ethics and morality, thereby making it not only cumbersome but also hypocritical. I intend to elucidate certain aspects of this grievance which very often are forgotten when examining a problem of such nature.

Firstly, we need to define cheating. As oxford puts it ‘an act of dishonesty to gain profit’ is cheating. Overlapping the above definition with our educational system we get a clear idea of what cheating is. An action which gives you an unfair advantage over others in an examination will be termed as cheating. Therefore any such act like carrying chits, writing on desks, and other means can be easily clubbed together as an act of cheating liable for punitive action. But the definition has a flaw. Suppose in an examination of 100 students, 60 are involved in the unfair practices, does it still give you an extra advantage or does it simply bring you at par with others around you? Think about it..

Secondly, the ‘art of cheating’ as I put it requires both skill and courage to carry it out successfully without being caught. The level of difficulty involved in any method of cheating clearly keeps a check on the practice and only those in dire need of passing the examination resort to such methods. But when it becomes easy to cheat and gain marks, obviously there will be a swarm of students indulging themselves in such acts. When you are sure of not getting punished for doing a bad deed, can you be held guilty for trying to gain an added advantage in today’s competitive world?

Thirdly, any student involved in the act of cheating can never be trusted with a position of responsibility. As a student there are certain norms we must follow and groom our self for the future difficulties, while working within those rules. An act of cheating does not indicate a rebellion, rather it accentuates the weakness of a person’s moral fiber. A person who succumbed to the small pressure of passing an examination will obviously not be able to handle situations in real life which not only pressure but also money and lives of a lot of people. Entitling such a person to key position in any organization would only jeopardize the company’s future.

Fourthly, nobody is born a criminal; you become one only when the circumstantial pressures become overwhelming. Students resorting to cheating shows the amount of pressure being put on the young minds, and the fact that knowledge today is judged by the grades and not on abilities. I have so far avoided speaking on cheating being wrong morally simply because we today are living in world where we need logic and reasoning to prove everything. People today don’t understand emotions and look for reasons to explain every action. But there is a sense of right and wrong in every human being which cannot be denied, and our conscience clearly tells us what is morally correct and what is not. Stabbing a person is not the same as slapping him, and our conscience tells us this. We don’t need rocket science to prove the difference between good and bad. In a similar fashion cheating and using unfair means is simply bad and we know it. You don’t have to prove or disprove it. We already are blessed with a sense which does it for us.

Finally, cheating does in fact get you in a position of advantage over others. As we know that in war it is always beneficial to have a vantage point under your command. Hence I ask what is wrong with a person seeking a head over others in a difficult competition? Now the only answer I got was, that in a society like ours, driven solely by monetary gains, it is completely rational to cheat if it benefits you.

As you can see, most of the points mentioned above simply turn out to be self contradictory, and complexly intermingled. Also it can be seen that it is not that cheating is itself the problem, it is merely an outcome of a lot different things spiraling in space and intertwining with each other. Moral weakness, failure of educational system, overburden, pressure to succeed and most importantly the lack of moral values in today’s society, all add up to cause this evil.

I guess that will be it for now. And please do not forget to comment on this article. I would absolutely love to know your views on it too. Please do comment. .