Education Secretary Leonor Briones. (File photo by GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Education (DepEd) is already coordinating with the authorities to investigate online cheating among students, Education Secretary Leonor Briones said Monday.
It was earlier discovered that students were using a Facebook group to share notes and answers to tests with one another in the current setup of blended learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
READ: Distance learning program gives rise to online cheating
Briones, while admitting that cheating is a “lingering issue” that extends even before the pandemic, has promised the department would take action against it.
“We are now seeking the assistance of authorities in tracing kasi mayroon naman talagang, may questions kasi tayo diyan at may key answers tayo diyan. Kung na-leak ba ‘yan o napunta sa estudyante o nagkopyahan, kailangan imbestigahan natin ‘yan,” she said in a Palace briefing.
(We are now seeking the assistance of the authorities because there are questions there and there are answer keys. We will investigate whether the key answers were leaked to students or they shared the answers.)
“We will take steps and we are already in touch with appropriate authorities because we will not tolerate it [cheating], at least in education,” she added.
The “Online Kopyahan” community had at one point more than 600,000 members, but after a local television report aired on Friday, the now-archived Facebook group was left with 571,900 members.
It was publicly visible on the social networking app before it was archived. Now, no one can create new posts, like, comment, or add more people and only members can see the group’s previous content.
Face-to-face classes have been suspended since March 2020 due to COVID-19. Students are currently being taught by distance learning methods.
Under the distance learning program, students study from their homes via printed and digital modules, online classes, TV, and radio.
“‘Yung question ng cheating in schools ay lingering issue ‘yan. Hindi ko jina-justify. I’m saying it is there and we will not tolerate it,” Briones said.
(Cheating in schools is a lingering problem. I am not justifying it; I am merely stating that it exists and we will not tolerate it.)
“Problema na ‘yang cheating, in society, not just in the Philippines, but in human nature itself,” she added.