Shura against inflating marks for better ratings of schools in Oman

Muscat: Majlis Al Shura members have criticised teachers who inflate results of failed students to help them pass exams in order to maintain the rating of schools.
Khalid Al Farei, head of the Educational Committee at the Majlis Al Shura labelled the act as “odious.”
He blasted school administration that encourage this act during the Shura session on Tuesday.
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“We have noticed that the directorate has formed an investigative committee after receiving a notice from a group of teachers about their school administration increasing the marks of failed students after the exam papers were corrected and also tampered with the results to increase the number of passing students. These acts were done for keeping results from impacting the school’s rating,” the statement read.
Schools in Oman are being ranked annually according to the number of students who successfully pass their exams and move to the next grade or graduate.
He said this act teaches youngsters bad habits as they follow the bad example of their seniors, who try to betray honesty and responsibility. “This makes youngsters’ minds dependent and irresponsible,” he explained.
Al Farei hailed teachers who refused to take part in such acts and protested. He also praised the officials who had listened to them and formed an investigative committee.
In his statement, Al Farei listed the negative effects of manipulating students’ results.
“This is a prejudice against the principle of equality, justice and equivalence in opportunities, which are approved by the state statute,” he said.
“This also produces misleading results about the students’ levels in Oman’s different schools,” Al Farei said, adding that such dishonesty sets unrealistic rates vis-a-vis a school’s work quality.
When contacted, an official at the Ministry of Education said the ministry will issue an official statement regarding the Shura member’s statement.
While teachers’ professional integrity is being questioned, education experts rooted the problem in the education system.
A number of teachers in Oman admitted manipulating students’ exams results, while blaming the educational system’s “pressure.”
Talking to the Times of Oman, a teacher even admitted rewriting answers to help pupils pass some exams.
Another ex-teacher said she has been “forced” to inflate high school students’ results for decades, bowing to pressure from head teachers and pushy school principals.
“To keep up our school’s reputation,” said an Islamic Studies teacher, “we have to minimise the number of students with F grade.”
Most teachers cited head teachers as the reason behind indulging in such unprofessional acts.
In Oman, the law allows giving extra marks to students for their behaviour and perseverance in attending classes.
However, it is illegal to manipulate exam answers.
Al Farei urged the Ministry of Education to punish “whoever betrays this country or violates his educational responsibility.”
He also called on the authorities to do their job of supervising all classes, and not only the higher diploma students.
It is worth mentioning that Al Farei’s statement was announced during a Shura a session in which Ahmed bin Abdullah Al Shahhi, minister of Regional Municipalities and Water Resources was hosted under the chairmanship of Khalid bin Hilal Al Ma’awali, chairman of Majlis Al Shura.