Manama: A Saudi high school student has bragged about how he cheated in an exam by using a small bottle of mineral water. The student who did not identify himself reportedly boasted that he printed a small cheat paper of probable answers to the Arabic exam, using a small font size. He then cut a part of the small water bottle label and replaced it with the cheat paper, giving it a genuine look. He said that his trick went unnoticed by the teachers and that he had access to the definitions, poetry references and information about poets that he could not memorise, Saudi news site Al Weeam reported.
Students in Saudi Arabia are allowed to carry bottles of water with them into exam halls. End of the year exams are often seen by students as opportunities to test their creativity and daring levels for cheating. “We cannot talk about a phenomenon, but there are reasons to worry,” an education official was on Sunday quoted as saying by Saudi news site Sabq. “We do have cases that need to be addressed. Cheating is totally unfair because we believe that tests are not meant to paralyse students but rather to measure their aptitude,” the Jeddah-based educator said.
A teacher, identified by his initials S.A., said that he was shocked by the increasing number of students who put pressure on their teachers to help them while they are taking their exams. “There are some students who want to get the rights answers orally or in writing from their classmates,” he said. “There are also students who openly press for direct assistance from the teachers. This simply does not befit the picture we want of the future generations,” he said, quoted by Sabq.
