Shanghai Normal University declared on February 18 that they had
drafted and issued the first Education Quality Supervision System
(EQSS). Applicable to all China's universities and colleges from
this semester the EQSS will rule on issues relating to the quality
of education on "campuses" and standardize the punishment for
cheating in examinations.
Indiscipline and cheating in examinations at universities and
colleges happen every semester and many students have been punished
for that. To ensure the message gets through, some universities and
colleges require students to sign a "letter of commitment to
honesty" which makes it clear that anyone caught cheating will be
expelled from their place of education. However, in most institutes
of learning there's no set standard for the punishment.
The new EQSS clearly defines the difference between "violation
of discipline" and "cheating" in examinations. The violation of
discipline is defined as breaking the rules relating to
examinations and not obeying or following instructions given by
teachers. This is regarded as not being as serious as cheating.
There are nine issues listed as being a violation of discipline
-- included in this is making a noise around examination rooms. The
punishment for wrongdoing could be a serious disciplinary warning
or even a decision that the result of a particular examination was
invalid.
The EQSS defines 12 particular acts of cheating, including
bringing material into an examination on paper or electronically;
copying answers or relevant material; using electrical equipment
with a memory function; destroying an examination paper, answer or
other material deliberately; passing or receiving paper with
answers; looking at papers of others; passing information by
gesturing; using computers to exchange information and leaving the
examination room with relevant paperwork.
Those caught cheating will be dealt with in a number of ways,
for instances, declaring examination results invalid, handing out
"demerits", canceling university degrees, and in more serious
cases, expelling the students from colleges and universities.
(China.org.cn by Chen Lin, February 28, 2006)
