Academic dishonesty: Students, staff should be trained early

Despite efforts by universities and higher learning institutions to fight a lack of integrity among students, academic and administrative staff, the issue remains challenging, and experts call for concerted efforts to root out the problem.

More than 100 students at the private KIM University (KIMU) in Kigali, Rwanda, were barred from graduating in July 2021 after authorities detected that they had changed grades on the university system, prompting investigations by the Rwanda Investigation Bureau (RIB).

Rachel Kayisengerwa, the owner of KIMU, who took over after her husband, Peter, the founder, died last year, confirmed the incident and stressed that, under no circumstances, could the students graduate as they allegedly “stole” marks. Their cases and those of others who might also have been involved will be investigated.

KIMU closed its doors in December 2020 citing financial constraints, but final-year students were allowed to graduate.

According to RIB spokesperson Dr Thierry Murangira, some forms of academic dishonesty constitute crimes and are punishable by Rwandan laws.

Commenting on the recent case at KIMU, Murangira said that preliminary investigations revealed that the initial grades of 108 students were changed and that academic and other staff members might have been involved.

“The investigation shows that the number of students who had their grades changed is quite high. This affected both the students and those in charge of the management information system. The investigation is still ongoing to ascertain if there were any bribes involved,” he said.

He said the suspects are accused of electronically forging the documents, which carries heavy sentences. They could face sentences of five to seven years in prison and fines ranging from RWF3 million (about US$3,000) to RWF5 million.

Several cases under investigation

A senior lecturer at the private University of Kigali was dismissed in mid-July 2021 over alleged sexual harassment linked to student marks. At the University of Rwanda, a senior lecturer in the School of Journalism and Communication was allegedly subjected to sexual harassment. The RIB says the case is still under investigation.

These are some examples of malpractice or academic dishonesty observed at different universities in the country. Experts warn that academic dishonesty is a vice that undermines excellence and can affect the quality of education expected from the universities.

According to Professor Nelson Ijumba, a former vice-chancellor of academics and research at the University of Rwanda (UR), and emeritus professor of electrical engineering at UR, who is also an honorary professor of electrical engineering at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, there are several types of academic dishonesty that need to be fought and uprooted.

“Academic dishonesty includes staff forging certificates they don’t have, or data for academic publication; lecturers who do research with students and publishing alone, and forged degrees,” he told University World News.

The seasoned academic added that other forms of academic dishonesty are manifested in lecturers selling marks and those who offer marks in exchange of sexual favours.

“Such practices are known in many institutions, not only in Rwanda. These are issues university managers should deal with harshly, otherwise it will be difficult to uphold integrity and the quality of education will be compromised,” he said.

Dishonesty affects labour capacity

According to Dr Fidele Ndahayo, the vice-chancellor of the University of Technology and Arts of Byumba, a private university in Northern Province, Rwanda, academic dishonesty happens due to a lack of integrity among university management, teaching and administrative staff, as well as among students.

“It is something that we have been fighting with all our might. However, due to a lack of academic integrity, the problem persists. Greater efforts are needed to fight it,” he said.

Ndahayo noted that, while universities have national, international, and internal laws and regulations, they must be vigilant if they want to eradicate the problem.

Christine Osae, the director of faculty development and quality assurance at Davis College in Kigali, Rwanda, concurs that academic dishonesty occurs when the people involved in the process of teaching and learning operate without integrity. She stressed that academic dishonesty has a huge effect on the labour capacity in a country and worldwide.

“Imagine a world where your surgeon is only a surgeon because he cheated; a situation where a vaccine like one of the COVID-19 vaccines’ efficacy was determined by falsified data; or employing a half-baked architect to put up a 10-storey commercial building that would house thousands of people per day,” she said.

She added that academic dishonesty completely undermines the role of education in creating lifelong learners agile enough to apply creative, out-of-the-box solutions to the world’s most pressing issues.

“Students who cheat are testament to the fact that no learning is taking place because they cannot apply what has been learned – much less learn how to learn. In addition, forms of dishonesty like fabrication of research data may misinform decisions leading to colossal damages in every sphere,” Osae said.

She emphasised that universities must take a stand to tackle the issue effectively and urged universities to include both staff and students when they address academic dishonesty.

Students, Osae said, should be encouraged to work hard, understanding that failure is not an unbearable thing but rather a learning process.

“When students join our institutions, we slap them with academic integrity policies to sign and, when they flout the academic rules, we immediately apply punitive measures underpinned by the zero-tolerance approach,” she said.

But many students never learned about academic honesty and its importance at school. “How should they avoid plagiarism if we have not taught them how to build an argument, weave narratives off people’s opinions or attribute information to sources?”

“Academic dishonesty is also practised because the perpetrators (both students and academics) can get away with it. How many institutions have anti-plagiarism software at undergraduate level?” she asked.

Inspections and reviews

According to Dr Rose Mukankomeje, director general of Rwanda’s Higher Education Council, the government has put in place laws and regulations and there are other established academic guidelines such as general academic regulations universities and higher learning institutions (HLI) should comply with.

“Universities and HLI not complying with the established laws, quality standards and guidelines promote academic dishonesty,” she told University World News.

She added that the Higher Education Council conducts a periodic institutional audit and subject review, among other inspections, to ensure the established laws and policies are not violated.

This is in line with its mission to enhance the quality of education, the modes of providing it within higher learning institutions and to make sure that graduates from such institutions are known for the betterment of Rwandans’ welfare and the development of Rwanda.

She noted that all higher learning institutions are aware of the existing laws, standards, policies, and guidelines for higher education, and they are required to comply.