Indiabased
‘contract cheating’ hits UK varsities @ that
enables students to acquire assignments – from essays to PhD dissertations
LONDON:
The quality of degrees from British universities is being undermined by a large
number of online “essay mills” and India-based “contract cheating” that enables
students to acquire assignments – from essays to PhD dissertations – for a fee,
officials and academics say.
Universities
minister Jo Johnson on Tuesday called on university and student bodies to do
more to deal with the spread of “essay mills” or websites that provide custom
written essays for students to submit as part of their degree
Academics
told HT that thousands of students at British universities have also been using
Indian expertise in IT in a growing phenomenon called “contract cheating”,
whereby course assignments are contracted to freelancers and others online for
a fee.
The
phenomenon – first reported in academic circles in 2008 by Thomas Lancaster and
Robert Clarke at Birmingham City University – has become more sophisticated
over the years, making it difficult to detect through usual plagiarism
detection software.
Lancaster
told HT: “We’ve observed a lot of people from India bidding to complete
academic work for students. They make offers that are very appealing to
students from the UK, they’ll do the assignment for what is a low price for a
UK student, but a good living wage for the worker in India.”
Universities
have plagiarism detection software, but several websites also offer
“plagiarism-free guarantees”, or essays and assignments tested against such
detection software, making it difficult for academics to confirm the
authenticity of a student’s work.
Johnson
said: “This form of cheating is unacceptable and every university should have
strong policies and sanctions in place to detect and deal with it.”
The
spread of “essay mill” websites was uncovered in a report by the Quality
Assurance Agency (QAA), an independent body tasked with safeguarding standards
and improving the quality of higher education in Britain.
The
QAA confirmed the existence of more than 100 such websites, with prices
depending on the complexity of assignments and tightness of deadlines. They can
range from a couple of hundred pounds for one essay to as high as £6,750 for a
PhD dissertation.
According
to Lancaster, India-based advertising for such services mention possession of
degrees from UK universities, which suggests they are familiar with the British
education system.
Source | Hindustan Times | 22 February 2017
Regards
Pralhad
Jadhav
Senior
Manager @ Library
Khaitan & Co
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