A recent investigation into some allegations has revealed a worrying situation of International Education system in New Zealand.
The allegations come from a New Zealand lecturer. His identity has been kept secret to respect his privacy and prevent any damage to his career. The New Zealander lecturer has failed half the international students of his class over cheating. They allegedly caught those using ghost-writers for assignment works.
The investigation into the matter shows that universities are turning a blind eye to this issue intentionally. Lecturer also claimed that the universities sacrifice the integrity of education for satisfying the international students who bring in huge revenues.
Dr. Derek Cormack, chairman of Universities NZ, have taken an offensive stand on the lecturer which comes out as an attempt to neutralize the issue raised. Dr. Cormack said that the lecturer should go to University systems about the problem rather than talking to New Zealand Press. This statement comes out after universities refused to speak about the issue for weeks.
The lecturer has discarded the statement completely. According to the lecturer, they raised the issue to University management several times and no action was taken.
The lecturer said that he pointed out the issue of cheating and ghost-writers to universities for years. They added that the universities find it easy to focus on the inflow of money and does not address the unethical and immoral actions of students.
A Threat to Writing Skills
Universities are overlooking the ghost-writing issue and it can be a threat to the development of international students. The lecturer described the dire situation he sees in his classroom. Half of the students are international students who are not proficient in English.
The course is meant to make them fluent in the English language. Yet, most of them cannot write a paragraph in English. The work they submit in class is horribly written. But the assignments seem to be perfect.
Lecturer added that students deny cheating. When confronted boldly, students even threaten to inflict self-harm or blame the professors of racism.
Few students admitted hiring ghost-writers to our news reporters on the condition of anonymity. This shows that universities are letting these things happen in their programs. Lecturer says that the education system is just a big “pay for degree” program now. University management is trying to increase the revenues and reputation in any way possible except quality education.
With the allegations of lecturer going viral, New Zealand’s education minister Chris Hipkins also addressed the topic. He expects the universities to step into the matter and take proper actions. He insisted the Universities to investigate cheating allegations seriously and ensure that ghost-writing and other malpractices are completely eliminated in all programs.
The New Zealand economy receives over $4.6 bn from international students and this amount is far too much to put at risk. This is the reason universities try to bring more and more convenience to students through unethical activities.
The lecturer who spoke up against the universities is now preparing to join union calls for a sector-wide review. And the universities are sticking to denying the allegations instead of investigating them.
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