Michael Atwakiire
Bushenyi, Uganda: West Ankole diocese Bishop Rt. Rev. Johnson Twinomujuni has expressed his anger towards head teachers who cheat UNEB exams for students, who he referred to as strong enemies of Uganda.
“My heart is heavy and sad because of teachers that cheat for our children. They are enemies of our society, no doubt!” said Twinomujuni, who was addressing a congregation early this week. He noted that even if some schools are celebrating the good results from exams, he can’t remain silent about the bad habits some schools have introduced. “Friends, as we celebrate good performance of our schools and children, I pause to tell you this: it is evident that academic integrity continues to face serious challenges. It is even getting worse in this digital era. We should not be or remain silent about this dangerous vice!” Twinomujuni noted. He thereafter asked teachers to do what they are supposed to do as professionals. “Dear teachers, do what you are supposed to do as professionals. Teach genuinely and allow the tests to do their work. It’s better to get a C when you’ve truly worked for it than getting a fake A as a result of cheating, because those kids for whom you cheat will not remain small. Once they have grown up and learnt more about life’s realities, they’ll discredit your worth as their former teacher and you can even make them think that cheating is fine or necessary for anyone to make it in life. Such acts poison their minds and sear their conscience. In the process their God-given moral rudder is bent off the standards of morality.” Twinomujuni explained.
He added that cheating kills quality and leads to ineffectiveness and can also put people’s lives at a serious risk. “For instance, cheating produces fake graduates and pseudo professionals. Those can be dangerous to our society. We continue to lose people at the hands of counterfeit medical personnel. Imagine boarding an aircraft whose pilot is a sham graduate in aviation. Which student will gain from a lecturer that is an academic dwarf; not because he or she is innately insane, but simply due to lack of proper training. If little knowledge can be dangerous what about the absence of it? It puts its recipients into deeper psychological confusion. Some end up not knowing that they don’t know. Such people are also, for a fact, innocently dangerous!” he said. Twinomujuni also said that because of cheating, so many people have good qualification papers but don’t have skills, hence can’t perform the jobs of their profession.
He warned teachers involving in exam malpractices that on judgment day in heaven, they will pay for it. “One day you will pay a high price for it personally. You may enjoy a momentary relief at the time of cheating, like ‘passing’ that exam, but one time the world will demand more from you than what you have actually been equipped with. Your fake first grade will take you to a place or put you in a position where a genuine one will strongly and firmly be required. That’s when you will pay the price!” Twinomujuni warned.
