Shocked after trusting a "service"

Posing as a student needing to return home urgently and requiring someone to attend classes on our behalf long-term at a university in Ho Chi Minh City, we received 20 messages on Zalo offering this service within just one hour.

The "service" didn't live up to the promises.

M. Thanh's account advertised: "I'm a female student at U. University, I have experience taking classes on behalf of others many times. If you're comfortable, let's cooperate." Thanh didn't care at all what subject the client needed her to take or the dates and times, quickly quoting a price: "900,000 - 1,000,000 VND per subject" - this was a discounted price for those using the "service" long-term.

When we expressed our disbelief, Thanh sent us the account and information of another student, saying that this person was also a reputable person who could help with classes and exams, and that this was Thanh's friend. If we weren't comfortable, we could hire Thanh's friend instead.

Sharing in a group chat, Minh A. (Hanoi) said she was quite shocked that her microeconomics exam score was only 4.4 points, completely different from what the "service" provider had initially claimed. "The fee for taking the exam on my behalf was 500,000 VND. After the exam, I transferred 200,000 VND upfront, planning to transfer the rest after the results were released. But everything was completely shattered; I didn't even get above average," A. confessed.

Bao T., a university student who had used this "service," said he was shocked when he received his essay. Due to his packed work schedule, he didn't get home until midnight and lacked the energy to write the essay. For 200,000 VND, he hired a student who promised to deliver it in two days. After receiving the essay, T. used a scanning tool and was surprised to discover that 78% of it was written by Chat GPT. "If I can check it, the lecturer can check it too. If the lecturer finds out, I'll definitely fail the course," T. said.

Distortion leads to many negative consequences.

In late April 2024, a post appeared on the Ho Chi Minh City University of Agriculture and Forestry Student Community group expressing outrage over a stranger entering a class on behalf of another student, resulting in unfair deductions of points.

Account A. stated that during a lecture, an unfamiliar female student's behavior drew the lecturer's attention. When the lecturer asked for names to be read out to deduct points from the class roster, the student who was attending the class on behalf of another female student randomly read out a name, which coincidentally matched that of another female student in the class. As a result, that female student was unfairly penalized, and of course, the unfamiliar student did not correct the mistake. At the end of the class, the "original" student had to meet with the lecturer privately to ask that the lecturer not deduct points from her.

"When students who take classes on behalf of others make mistakes but don't dare admit them, it affects others. Just for a few hundred thousand dong, they behave uncivilly, or to put it more harshly, they commit dishonesty upon dishonesty, making mistake after mistake, deliberately deceiving the lecturer and all the students in the class," - A. expressed his frustration.

Supervising the exam rooms at Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade is one of the solutions aimed at detecting cheating.

The post quickly received many responses from students of the Ho Chi Minh City University of Agriculture and Forestry, with many expressing outrage at the increasing number of instances of students having others attend classes on their behalf, which undermines fairness and equality in the learning environment. Such blatant cheating and lying cannot be tolerated in an educational setting.

It's not just the University of Agriculture and Forestry; other universities in Ho Chi Minh City are experiencing similar situations. Thanh Khoa, a student at the University of Industry and Trade in Ho Chi Minh City, said he once encountered a case where an unfamiliar student attended class on his behalf. Most of these cases occurred during general education courses. Tung Thuan, a student at the University of Technical Education in Ho Chi Minh City, discovered that a classmate had hired someone to complete their final project.

Thuan said that those using this "service" are also classmates, and if you expose them, you're almost certain to be disciplined by the school board. Therefore, most cases that are discovered are "turned a blind eye."

Dr. Le The Tai, Head of the Student Affairs Department at Ho Chi Minh City University of Law, stated that the practice of having someone else attend classes or take exams on behalf of another student is not unique to Vietnam; it occurs in many countries around the world. "In 2023, Ho Chi Minh City University of Law discovered that a student had hired an outsider to take an exam for them. After just a few questions, the invigilators confirmed that the person was a stranger who had infiltrated the exam. The student who hired the person was disciplined by the university with a one-year suspension," Dr. Tai said.

According to Mr. Pham Thai Son, Director of the Admissions and Communications Center at Ho Chi Minh City University of Industry and Trade, students are caught in a vicious cycle. Students work part-time to earn money to cover their studies, but when their work schedules become too busy, they resort to hiring people to attend classes or take exams on their behalf.

"Without attending classes, there's no knowledge, and academic results are like a blank sheet of paper. The school always has surprise tests, and the final exams are very strict, so students will certainly not meet the requirements to pass the course. As a result, students have to work extra jobs to earn money to pay for retakes, which is a very time-consuming and expensive solution," Mr. Son emphasized.

Attending classes on behalf of others: Easy work, high pay?

What's noteworthy is that behind the bustling online "service" exchanges, many university students are offering to attend classes on behalf of others for money. Minh H., a student at a university in Ho Chi Minh City, said that besides her studies, she earns extra money by attending classes for others. For each successful "service," she earns between 200,000 and 300,000 VND. Not having to work part-time in hot shops or restaurants, H. finds this job quite easy. For classes with attendance checks at the beginning of the day and no note-taking required, she only needs about 30 minutes to complete her task.

However, it's not always "easy," H. said, adding that she was recently cheated out of her payment, and after the job was done, the Facebook account that hired her to do her homework blocked all contact.

"It was wrong of me to attend classes on behalf of someone else; I'm a student myself. So, when they cheated me out of my fees, I just stayed silent. If I made a big fuss, sued, or reported it to the universities, both universities would get involved," H. sighed.

(*) See Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper, issue dated May 22nd.

Previous episode: The booming "service" of having someone else attend classes or take exams on your behalf.

Next episode: Increasing surveillance cameras, holding people accountable.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/no-ro-dich-vu-hoc-ho-thi-ho-te-ngua-vi-trot-tin-dich-vu-196240522204630585.htm