COVER: Do we need to look out for the fake graduate ?

A great deal of graduates from universities in Tanzania walk out of their campuses half-baked because a large number of them  have paid third  parties to write their theses and research papers, Success can reveal.

Investigations by this writer have revealed that such racketeers operate within their confines of higher learning institutions in the country, or with full knowledge  of the university administration.

Now with only Sh1, 000,000 a Master’s student can purchase a copy of his theses from such racketeers and an undergraduate student having Sh150,000 can buy a researchable topic proposal and then submit to their unsuspecting lecturers who  then innocently approve them.

This writer came across advertisements on social networks, belonging to a group of people claiming to offer such services.

On the pretext that he was in need of a research proposal, this writer dialed number: 0717 139 302, belonging to an Abdul of Kijiweni, Mwanza, who after some  negotiations, assured this writer that he will have his full research proposal in a week, provided that he be given Sh150,000. Asked of where he would get all the literature to complete the research proposal,  Abdul confidentially replied that he would make good use of past research  proposals and the internet to seal the deal.

Abdul insisted that he gets the money on time, as he had so many customers on his waiting list.

“I would appreciate if you send the money on time because I’m travelling to  Moshi and I’ll be back in Mwanza,” said Abdul.

Unlike Abdul, Johnson another service provider with a mobile number 0762641478 told this writer that a research proposal fetches anything from Sh200, 000.

Johnson and Abdul are not the only dealing with the business.  Our investigations revealed a host of people purporting to write research proposals and theses for university students.

For instance, there is 0759 34 99 75, 0768 20 14 57, 0754 04 12 84 and 0688 55 5033. Much as the writing of research proposals and theses is proving to be an Achilles heel to university students, the practice is growing in leaps and bounds, much to the dismay of learning.

The give away

According to the Rev. Dr Charles Kitima, former Vice Chancellor of St Augustine University of Tanzania (SAUT) who is now a lecturer at SAUT’s Faculty of Law, students who resort to such shortcuts will not make it in life. He adds that such students get exposed while defending their theses, when they fail to memorise what had been written in their academic papers. “As an academic it is very easy to tell if the work is entirely theirs or not, especially when they are faced with a panel of professors and doctors while defending their papers,” he says.

A criminal offence

As far as academic integrity was concerned, the Rev. Dr Kitima sees the buying of research proposals and theses as being a criminal offence, which compromises the quality of the country’s education, adding that it was still a big problem within lecture halls. Prof Yunus Mgaya, the executive secretary of the Tanzania Commission of Universities (TCU)-whose agency is in charge of checking standards in universities — says he  was aware of the operations of such racketeers, saying the practice was equivalent to cheating and was also a crime.

Prof Mgaya, who while a lecturer admits to have caught a student who bought his  research paper; he has directed universities in the country to put in place an  anti-plagiarism software known as Turnitin which will allow universities to  expose students who  have used shortcuts to have their research topics and theses done on their behalf.

A solution

“Before a student submits their work to the directorate of post graduate studies,  the work will be vetted using the software to tell if it is legitimate or not,” he quips. So far, it was only the University of Dar es Salaam (UDSM) that has installed the  software, according to Prof Mgaya. “The software was installed last year between November and December last  year,” he adds.

The malpractice has also attracted the attention of employers who cannot help but wonder why what has been written on the papers is not reflected in the executing of their day to day operations in the workplace. Mr Oscar Mkude, an economist with the Association of Tanzania Employers (ATE) says  the trend is a known malpractice among employers and has adverse effects on the credibility of some companies and offices.“You employ these master’s students, who have good papers, but the same is not reflected in how they approach the work,” he says.

“The quality of papers produced does not match their academic credentials.”

At some campuses for example, those engaged in the illegal practice conduct it in  the halls of residence and some openly advertise their services on notice boards  and walls of lecture halls and other campus buildings. Some of the mercenary  researchers are stationed in a students’ office on the campus like Abdul and  Johnson.

According to Mr Mkude, employers have hired workers with Masters’ degrees but  they turn out to be ill-equipped for the tasks. “You wonder if they hired someone to sit in class for them,” he says. One of the dealers told Success how he would prepare students to hide their  tracks in case of a suspicious lecturer.

The dealer also promised to take this writer who pretended to be his client  through the whole process, ‘communicating via email in details so that you will defend your projects well.