End of Term Examination: When ghost students perform better

On Friday, December 19, most secondary school authorities handed over the first term report cards to their students with various remarks.

Those who attended classes regularly and worked hard during the term had good averages while others who played games and occupied drinking spots during school hours brought home fake report cards to impress their parents. The “ghost” students were last Friday seen in cyber cafés scanning and modifying their reports cards.

According to Souley M. who runs a cyber café in Bonaberi, the “ghost” students are in possession of USB storage devices where they store the scanned report cards and take it elsewhere for modification. “They either take the report card of a student who has good marks for the term, scanned and change the just the name and age, or scan their own report cards and modify the marks and averages of each subject, change the position, remarks and slash unjustified absences.

We don’t carry out such operations in our business place though students are willing to pay very high. It is clearly written and pasted on our walls that students are not allowed in their cyber café during school hours. It is our own way to contribute to student’s welfare,” Souley explained.

Talking to Wouri’s Divisional Delegate of Secondary Education, Henry Delor Bosso, he admitted that the practice was rampant and measures to curb the bad practices put in place by many schools. “Before now, few schools sent SMS to parents on their children’s averages and position a day before they are handed report cards.

Now, most schools, both public and private have copied the good examples. Other schools hand the report cards to parents or guidance upon presenting the National Identity Card in order to avoid handing the results to an accomplice. Producing fake report cards will take them nowhere. It is either they end up being expelled or fail the official examination.

Parents who are still being deceived during this digital era are naive and can right the wrong by communicating with their class masters,” he noted.