The Director of Academic Affairs at the University of Ghana (UG), Lydia Anowa Nyarko Danquah, has defended the university’s decision to publish the names of students involved in examination malpractice.
According to her, the move is meant to protect the integrity and reputation of the university.
Earlier, the Office of the Registrar at the University of Ghana released the names of students found guilty of examination malpractice, together with the punishments given to them.
Speaking in an interview, the Academic Affairs Director explained that the policy is not meant to disgrace or unnecessarily punish students.
She said the main goal is to discourage cheating during exams and to protect the value of certificates awarded by the university.
“This is university policy; we do it every year. We have a process to sanction students who commit malpractices during exams. We want to discourage that because it goes against the university’s image and against the certificate you receive as a student when you go out.
“It is not like we want to punish or shame people for evil reasons. We just want to discourage it,” she said.
Meanwhile, students at the University of Ghana have shared different opinions about the decision.
Some students believe publishing the names will stop others from cheating in exams, while others feel it could cause emotional stress and embarrassment for the affected students.
“Even though I think the university has good intentions for publishing the names, I also think that it exposes the student to a certain level of mental trauma,” a student said.
“I think it’s high time we dealt with people who are engaged in such behaviour because examination has rules. I don’t think the university is wrong,” another added.
