RWANDA - 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.
