When the state transcribes, students also transcribe

From zero to three, four or five.

It is the epilogue of the case of overwriting the external matriculation exam in Montenegro.

Hundreds of students had answers that were the same down to the last comma, and also incorrect. Some even copied entire essays from the Internet.

Instead of sanctions, the newly appointed Evaluation Committee of the Examination Center decided that every answer should be counted and evaluated. Thus, the majority of those students passed the exam, and some received high marks.

For years, it has been said that Montenegrin students use illegal means during external exams. This year they were almost punished. Zero points was their result, until on June 2 they came with their parents to protest in front of the Ministry of Education and the Examination Center because of the recorded zero points on the Montenegrin-Serbian, Bosnian and Croatian (CSBH) language and literature exam.

This is where the picture changes. The government replaces the leadership of the Examination Center and the Assessment Committee, and the State Examination Committee orders the tests to be re-examined. What the previous commission, under security measures, worked for over 50 days, stopped in two or three days of new evaluation. Pupils satisfied, from zero to threes, fours or even fives.

The efforts of the professional and scientific public to point out that a line should be drawn and everyone who tries to break the rules, be disqualified and sent to a remedial exam was in vain.

Over 4.500 students took the external matriculation exam this year. Tests for two compulsory subjects (CSBH, mathematics, English language) start in all schools on the same day at the same time. Tests are taken under code.

Associate at the Faculty of Law Nikolina Tomović for "Vijesti" he says that in this and similar cases "the greatest responsibility certainly belongs to competent institutions and employed individuals whose duty it is to ensure the regularity of examinations, and that is certainly the Ministry of Education, the Examination Center and the examiners on duty".

"In the classroom or the amphitheater, that responsibility rests with the teaching staff, whose task is to preserve the integrity of the teaching and examination process. On the other hand, the responsibility of students who were familiar with the examination procedures and the fact that any form of use of telephones or other devices during the examination is not allowed and will be sanctioned in an appropriate manner cannot be excluded under any circumstances," he emphasizes. Tomovic.

According to her, the appropriate method of sanction in this case is open to controversy.

"Since procedures in that direction have obviously not been established, which left room for ad hoc solutions that are the subject of several days of disputes. For the sake of comparison, when it comes to taking exams at faculties, where there are certainly the same forms of behavior (use of mobile phones, so-called bugs, smart watches...), the rules indicate that a student, who used such means in taking the exam, a disciplinary measure may be issued: a public warning, a public reprimand, exclusion of the right to take the exam in the subject in which the violation was committed for the semester in which the subject is taken, or exclusion from the faculty for up to two study years," Tomović points out.

He clarifies that, specifically, at the Faculty of Law in recent years, the imposition of all these forms of disciplinary measures has been recorded, most notably the exclusion of the right to take exams in a specific semester due to the use of mobile phones, while there are also a certain number of exclusions of up to two years due to the use of earplugs and headphones. . "Mostly, it is about unpopular moves by the teaching staff, which are often met with disapproval from students, of course, but also from a part of the academic staff that does not take these forms of violations seriously enough. This is best illustrated by the fact that the Faculty of Law is one of the few, if not the only, faculty unit that carries out specific disciplinary procedures, and since the moment of their intensification, a significant decrease in the number of fraudulent actions during the examination process has been recorded, which speaks in favor of the fact that "Unfortunately, sanctions and the fear of sanctions are still the most effective methods of preventing overwriting," explains Tomović.

The question is whether the epilogue of the last case should be surprising at all.

Six years ago, in 2017, a three-member committee of the Institute of Education, which included professors, copied the proposal of the reform of education from Croatian colleagues for the subject of physical education.

After the case was discovered, the three of them resigned from their membership in the commission, and returned the allowances of around 300 euros that they received during their work to the budget.

The public is not aware that, in addition, they are additionally sanctioned.

Plagiarism has taken root in higher education. Thus, former ministers, directors, and politicians were accused of plagiarism.

A professor at the Faculty of Law was also convicted in the first instance, accused of presenting and publishing the works of her students as her own. That case is the only one that was prosecuted before the Montenegrin judiciary.

Tomović warns that plagiarism is "evidently present among students, and experience teaches us that among certain professors as well."

"Particularly sensitive and worrying are cases of plagiarism in which it is the professor who has abused his position as a mentor, using the student's work as his own. The Commission of the Faculty of Law previously decided against such cases of severe violation of academic integrity, specifically in the proceedings that are still being conducted against the professor Bojane Lakićević ĐuranovićTomović states.

Preventive action, she says, but also effective sanctioning of plagiarism is equally important when it comes to both students and professors.

"Although stronger responsibility can be established on the part of professors who are expected to be the shield of education and the first in line to defend academic integrity. In this direction, it is necessary to strengthen students' awareness of the importance of personal work and authentic results in academic works, unfortunately, we are witnessing more and more that this awareness is weak. This can be seen from the increasingly frequent practice of students to hand over works that fulfill their academic obligations to other people in exchange for money, as well as works that students prepare contrary to the rules of writing and citing sources," says Tomović.

According to her, a major role in preventing such violations is played by the academic staff in the first place, and then by special commissions and bodies at the faculty and university level, which ultimately depends on what and how strict the policy will be implemented in relation to acts of plagiarism. but also consistency in its implementation. "Nevertheless, from the sporadic detection of various cases of plagiarism, we can conclude that plagiarism to a greater extent escapes the foreseen verification mechanisms, which leaves room for reconsideration of existing methods and certainly their more intensive application," concludes Tomović.

BIH: Graduation - a source of stress or a corrector of knowledge?

Graduates of primary and secondary schools in Bosnia and Herzegovina are on vacation. They are preparing for graduation exams and new challenges.

However, the matriculation exams are not uniform in BIH either. The situation differs from canton to canton, from entity to entity. It is difficult to gather all the procedures, ways and forms of matriculation exams in one place, but not the ways for children to achieve the best possible results. Still in the ads, at a very favorable price, you can rent or buy a bug-tester, which is a great help to many students during important exams and is used equally throughout BIH.

In addition to this "modern tool", there are also "old-fashioned" ways of copying, whispering, reminders on a sheet of paper under the table...

However, what is most important, the interlocutors claim that in BIH there has never been a "breaking" of the system and "theft" of exam questions, and therefore they are not guarded by some additional security agencies and services.

Exams are mostly in the drawers and computers of committees or directors waiting for the exam and then, just a few minutes or hours before the exam, they are distributed to the schools.

"In FBIH, the situation is different from canton to canton, because the cantons are directly responsible for primary and secondary education, and for years there has been no coordination at all between the cantonal ministries. 10 years ago, KS introduced an external graduation at the end of primary school. There is a catalog of exam questions and by-laws define the procedures for the external matriculation exam. So far, we have not recorded cases of abuse. External graduations are supervised by committees in schools and committees at the competent ministry, and so far these committees have done their work professionally," he told us. Saudi Silver, president of the Federation of Basic Education and Upbringing Union of FBiH-Cantonal Board of KS, noting that the results of the external matriculation exam are not relevant proof of students' (lack of) knowledge, but serve as a corrective factor for some students who manage to show more than during schooling, but for the majority of students they are source of stress.

In the Tuzla Canton, too, an external matriculation exam is held for elementary school students.

"There was no 'leaking' of information or 'theft', i.e. taking tests, but there were complaints about possible irregularities in the sense of copying and the like, which we resolved immediately. There have been no major problems so far," he told us Asim Bojic, Assistant Minister for Education of the Republic of Turkey.

In USK, only high school students take the matriculation exam, while elementary school students are still spared this type of knowledge test.

"Until now, there have been no examples of 'stealing' questions or objections of this kind, because the prepared questions are kept with school principals, packed in envelopes, for which school principals are also criminally responsible," he said. Haris Smajić, director of the USK Pedagogical Institute.

In the RS, the matriculation exam is still of an experimental nature and does not affect enrollment in secondary schools, nor the success of students. From 2013 until the coronavirus pandemic, the matriculation exam was conducted in 94 out of a total of 187 primary schools, and this year it was implemented in 93 new schools. Not a single remark was related to the possible "stealing" of tests, rewriting...

"It is possible that this has not happened so far because the result of the exam has no influence on the final success of the student. We approach the exam seriously, in detail and ready. There are recommendations on sitting for the exam, teachers who oversee the exam process come from other schools and are teachers of subjects that are not taken. The commissions undergo training and are ready for anything that could happen on the field", he explained to us Predrag Damjanović, director of the Republic Pedagogical Institute of the Republika Srpska, noting that high schools themselves organize matriculation exams.

Croatia: Only a few pupils in a generation try to copy

This year, 30.157 students will take the state matriculation exams in Croatia.

Although stressful for students in the final year of high school, the state graduation exam for the 13 years that has been held in Croatia is the only exam in which all students have equal chances and which really enabled equality for everyone when enrolling in universities.

Namely, based on the results of three mandatory exams that everyone must take and the results of optional subjects that students choose themselves, the state matura in Croatian education eradicated the occupation of faculty positions by those with connections because without the knowledge demonstrated at the matura there is no continuation of education.

This is precisely why students do not state their identity with their first and last name on the exams themselves, and the results obtained automatically tell them what position they have taken at the chosen faculty.

Precisely because of the importance of the state graduation, and then through the years of implementation, Croatian students also adhere to the rules and do not copy.

There are only a few of them in the entire generation who try but are always exposed in the end.

And the consequences of copying and attempting non-academic procedures are greater and more significant than doing their best on the exam and showing their real knowledge. It is precisely because of the precisely prescribed rules that what accessories are allowed to have on a certain exam, and what they are not allowed to wear, written on the exam sheets, students do not take risks, because even the slightest deviation from the rules leads to the cancellation of the state matriculation exam and the immediate chance to retake the exam next year.

Because high school students in Croatia take the state matriculation exams not only to enroll in universities, but also to officially complete their high school education. In other words, there are no state matriculation results, no high school graduation either. For those from vocational schools, the state graduation does not mean the end of high school, but it means the opportunity to continue the higher education path.

After 13 years, it is clear that the preparation and implementation of the Croatian state matriculation exam is the most expensive compared to all matriculation exams in many EU countries, such as for example Slovenia, because the exams for the next generation are prepared a year in advance and because identical questions are not repeated at the state matriculation exam previous generations.

Namely, Croatia has decided that, after each graduation, all students will be able to publicly view the exams and questions so that they can become familiar with the content of the graduation, the structure of the exam, and better prepare for what awaits them in such an exam.

Moreover, in recent years, students in their final grade can register for the state matriculation exam and a few months before the exams themselves, check which material they are weak in and what they need to practice and repeat for the exams themselves.

This approach was liked by the students, who do not miss the opportunity to once again go through all the rules of behavior and the material before the state graduation.

Among other things, the state exam is a clear presentation of students' real knowledge and a clear warning to secondary schools in the matter of evaluating their knowledge at the end of the school year.

From generation to generation, in addition to Croatian, mathematics and English, Croatian students most often choose physics, biology, psychology, politics and economics, but also informatics as optional subjects at the state matriculation exam, which clearly dictates the trends among young people when it comes to choosing the faculties they want to enroll in. .

This year, for the first time, students will not be able to choose two levels of the mandatory exam in Croatian, as before, when they could apply for the mentioned exam at the dream and higher level, but all students will take the same exam. This exam at the state matriculation exam is held over two days - the first day is an exam and the second day is an essay. In order to pass the Croatian language, students must have a positive grade in both parts.

Serbia: Small graduation, big lessons

This year, high school leavers in Serbia will take their first maturity exam in the extraordinary circumstances caused by the massacre at the "Vladislav Ribnika" elementary school on May 3. How extraordinary it is is shown by the fact that, after several weeks of confusion, the school year ended two weeks earlier, on June 6, but this does not apply to high school graduates whose calendar remained the same.

The obligations that teachers have towards them have remained unchanged in the sense of helping in the preparation for the junior high school graduation - the big one, called the state exam, has been postponed again for three years until 2026, so high school graduates will enter the faculty based on success and entrance exams.

The graduation ceremony will last for three days from June 21 to 23 for eighth-grade elementary school students. On the first day, the mother tongue is taken, on the second, mathematics, and on the last day the chosen subject. The final results will be on June 28, and on July 3, the students will know whether they met the requirements and enrolled in the desired school or at least one of those that were near the top of their list.

Biology (38 percent) was chosen by the majority of primary school students as an elective subject, followed by geography (29 percent), almost 16 percent of history, nine percent of chemistry and a smaller percentage of physics.

The junior high school diploma carries a maximum of 40 points - 14 each in the native language and mathematics and 12 chosen ones - and the maximum number of points that holders of the "Vuk Karadžić" diploma will receive for maximum success in school - is 60. The total is a maximum of 100, and the improvement of the final total also contributes successes in international and national competitions during the eighth grade. Gold won in the country carries an additional 6 points, and abroad brings another 14.

At the trial graduation in March, the students had the most difficult tasks from the chosen subject, and the puzzles also gave them a headache, not only knowledge but logical thinking dominates. The alarming data is that last year, among more than 63.000 low-matriculation students, only nine of them solved all the tasks! It is even worse if it is known that every fifth student has been a "wolf" for several years. However, it is practically impossible to fail a high school diploma, although 50 points is the minimum for admission to four-year schools. Those below that line can go to three-year schools - which are forced through the dual education system, but that is a separate, very difficult topic.

The question over the issues that has plagued Serbia for years is not the lack of knowledge of low-school graduates, but the security of tests, especially after two major "leaks": in 2013 from the printing house of the Official Gazette, and in 2019, the mathematics test from the printing house of AD Politika. The police also take care of the "integrity" of exam questions, at least as far as printing and transportation to schools are concerned. Furthermore, regularity is guaranteed by the principals and teachers on duty.

This leads to the second most important question - can it be rewritten and what are the penalties? The answer to the first question is yes, although the recorded cases are smaller than the statistical error. The punishment for a student caught in the act is zero points on the test, and the principals of the school where there are such irregularities can literally fly out of their chairs. Which, for the record, does not happen!

Two more things should be said about this brief overview; most parents are holding out their wallets to pay for the preparation of junior high school students, who are out of school often at exorbitant prices. In the past, gray heads will say, this did not exist, because better students helped their less successful friends during school and studying for exams, often organizing team preparations. At that time, the "Wolf" diploma had a percentage, two students!

The second topic, incidental to the small graduation, is also related to mutual non-solidarity - namely, the phenomenon of whispering and helping on tests during the school year, which was once common, has been almost eradicated in schools. The professor of psychology at the Faculty of Philosophy in Belgrade, Tamara Džamonja Ignjatović, in a conversation with your reporter, recently drew attention to this fact, which is related to the changed educational role of the school, which is lost in the race for grades, on the one hand, and on the other, modification educational role, because instead of acquiring and applying knowledge and especially developing critical thinking and curiosity, "school has become a competitive place".

"The grade has always been a measure of success, but the criteria have changed," the professor believes. This can be seen at the small graduation through failure/success and the best ranked by success. Although, things should not be generalized, because there are children and teachers who take advantage of the best that the school has to offer, which are first and foremost the joy of acquiring knowledge, teamwork and solidarity.