New rules to prevent cheating

By PHOEBE GWANGILO
THE Measurement Service Division has implemented some of the 65 recommendations made to avoid malpractice during national examinations, the division’s acting assistance secretary Packiam Arulappan says.
Arulapan told The National during the packing of  Grade 10 examination papers yesterday that due to time restrictions, some recommendations were taken on board and they involved writing, printing and packing.
“Given the time constraints and everything, we can’t enforce all of them but we have taken into consideration some of them,” he said.
“With the Grade 12, item writing this year was done on the spot, we had 16 subject professors from universities and we had 16 MSU officers. Item writer will write the item while the MSU officer will type it.
“Computers and flash drives have been secured,  nothing and nobody can input anything, nobody can take out anything. Within that one week, we made sure that the exams are done in a very close environment, that’s a significant step we have taken.”
Arulapan said that printing was no longer done at  Government Printers but sent off-shore
“Even the password is about 18 symbols and we can’t remember it, and that has been taken in a sealed TNT envelope. Only in front of the printer we open and give the password to them. After giving the password we burn the papers.”
Arulapan said Education Department secretaries were supportive and took time to visit how those measures had been taken.
He said what they were doing was to make sure contents were like what they expected before dissemination of the papers to other provinces by Saturday via Air Niugini.
“I want to assure you that what is happening here is malpractice-free.”