PETALING JAYA: Tear a small portion of paper from your exam sheet, write your answers in it, check out for invigilators movement and if everything is clear, throw the paper to your friend.
You would be thinking...Why on earth would these students take such a risk just to help their friends copy? Some say they just want to help their friends but others do it for the thrill!
In the last two weeks, the nation has been jolted with the recent leaks of Ujian Pencapaian Sekolah Rendah UPSR papers.
Leaks affected the English, Science, Mathematics and Tamil language papers resulting in papers being voided and re-sits scheduled.
The Star Online spoke to former students who shared their experiences on copying and also getting leaked papers for school and trial examinations.
"As a school kid, we used to copy during our school examinations but when it comes to the big ones, we avoided it at all cost,” said Atiq (Not his real name).
However, in 2009, his friend got caught for copying in SPM. He was caught copying for Pendidikan Moral (Moral Studies).
"Once my friend got caught and he had a pretty tough time. For a year, he struggled to get a place in any university. He had to re-do the exam and now he has changed.
“Now, he is successful in his university and he even joked that his face is constantly looking at the examination paper whenever he sits for his university exams,” said Atiq.
Another former student, Robert (not his real name) said that he resorted to so many techniques just to help his friend and also get answers for himself.
"We used so many techniques. Tapping the table, throwing a small paper, whistling according to tune and many more. We just had various ways of sharing our answers.
"I've asked my friends to place their papers strategically in order for us to see the answers and they obliged,” said Robert who thinks that the UPSR leak could have been avoided if authorities were more cautious.
Kumar (not his real name) has seen his friends writing on toilet walls during breaks and he shared one interesting incident.
"The teacher was walking around the examination hall, my friend inserted a small note with answers on his back pocket and I took it from there!
"We could have become pickpockets! We were young and it was thrilling to do all these but we could have been expelled.
“Even If I don’t know the answer, my friends will still demand for it. Reason - They just want their paper to be filled answers and they want to look smart.
"Before trials, we will sometimes get the leaked papers and we will prepare before the trials. We keep it hush-hush because some tuition teachers are able to get their hands on it and we don't want the school teachers to know about it," said Kumar.
However, Kumar has since regretted his actions and has urged kids to study smart and do well in their exams.
"To me, cheating is not good. If you want to do well, make sure you go for your classes, concentrate on what the teacher is telling and also revise when you get back home.
"Some tuition centres are really good because they analyse papers from previous years and tell students what to expect for this year's paper. They also make sure they complete the syllabus for a subject," said Kumar, who scored straight As for UPSR, PMR and SPM.
Teachers who have caught students cheating before and questioned students on why they do it.
"They claim that they didn't study and face difficulties answering questions. The culprits are normally the same ones. They do it all the time," said P. Selvi, a school teacher in Ipoh.
A teacher who wished to be known as Loo said that the lazy ones don't even take the time to read the questions let alone study for exams.
"Doing well in exams is empowerment and cheating your way through can't be empowering. At the end of the day, you can only feel shame and embarrassment," she said.
In most schools, teachers are known to give exam tips to prepare students for examinations but never leak examination papers.
"I do not know for sure but schools have been known to use exam tips to prepare the students. Most teachers confer that the UPSR leak could not have started in schools," said Selvi.
These teachers pitied the UPSR students who have to re-sit for the leaked papers.
"Pity the students who have to re-sit. Many didn't even know the leak and of course, the honest ones would have ignored the info. But at the end of the day, they suffer," said Loo.
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