SHARJAH & DUBAI - The cancellation of results of three girl students enrolled in Grades X and XI was yesterday recommended by the Legal Affairs Department of the Ministry of Education (MoE), according to official sources in the ministry.
Following the decision, the answers of the three girls, which were identical to the MoE model answers, would be rejected and the guilty students would be deemed failed in all the subjects as well, except History. The question paper for that subject was changed in time, the sources said.
The education officer of the Sharjah Education Zone, who was in charge of printing the examination papers, was charged with breach of trust.
He admitted having leaked the model question papers of the Grades X and XI final examinations to the students. The case was referred to the prosecution, following investigation conducted by the Legal Affairs Department. The Sharjah Court of First Instance found the accused guilty and sentenced him to three years in jail.
A report issued by the technical inspectors showed that the answers of the students were identical to the MoE model papers. They amazingly obtained full marks though their marks in the first semester were below level. The marks they got in History, which was confidentially changed, were also very low, the sources explained.
The implicated students claimed they were not caught cheating and hence the MoE cannot cancel their results. However, the technical committee is entitled to assess and decide on how genuine their answers were. Some other students were, however, caught cheating. Micro photocopies of the MoE model answers were found in their possession but they refused to say how they could get them, the sources disclosed.
Meanwhile, the three students, identified only as F.A. (Grade XI), M.A. and K.T. (Grade X) insisted that they had done nothing wrong. However, they failed to justify why their answers were identical.
Investigations showed that F.A., the convicted official's sister, obtained full marks in the first semester, said Sawsan Eissa Al Kashf, an officer with the Legal Affairs Department.
A.M., a student, said he paid Dh30 for the model answer of History before it was changed. This proved that the MoE model answers were even sold and circulated, added Al Kashf.
When contacted, M.A., one of the accused girls, said she had nothing to do with the whole issue. She claimed not be a friend of the student whose brother is involved in the leakage of model answers.
By Mohsen Rashid