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A study conducted by Visual Objects revealed that 52% of students anticipate widespread cheating and breaches of academic integrity while experiencing distance learning. Upholding academic standards have been replaced with an unethical pursuit of higher grades at the cost of true education and personal character. At Staples High School, for example, teachers may give the same test to students – with half of the class in person, and the other half participating via Zoom. When assessments are announced, many online students use various tools to cheat on tests. Photomath, a popular mobile app that completes math problems by scanning photos, has experienced heightened usage during the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the International Center for Academic Integrity, about 68 % of undergraduate students and about 43 % of graduate students admit to cheating on tests or in written assignments. Several studies point to a similar problem in high school. Technology has made it easier to cheat in exams and on writing assignments, but it is also making it increasingly easier to be caught.

Hackers attempted to change grades at a Fairfax County high school, using a cunning attack that began with an email from a school panel charged with upholding honor and integrity, according to a search warrant. Oakton High School in Vienna, Va., is just the latest in a string of secondary schools, colleges and universities nationwide to be targeted — often by meddling students — in attempts to turn F’s into A’s in virtual grade books.

The Education Cabinet Secretary has vowed to ensure that people using fake university degree papers are unearthed. Addressing principals at All Saints Cathedral Anglican in Nairobi, the education CS lashed out at those who want to assume leadership roles by irregularly acquiring academic qualifications, saying the ministry will rein in on academic miscreants in an effort to promote integrity. He urged the principals to be at the forefront in instilling virtues and challenged them to take responsibility for failures in their institutions.

On Tuesday, the Culture and Education Minister said that the government was aiming to achieve higher standards of integrity with the implementation of the national exams (UN) starting in 2016. To that end, the Culture and Education Ministry has produced a barometer, namely the UN Integrity Index (IIUN), which measured the percentage of student answer sheets that showed no sign of cheating.