Admission exams for all specialty groups have already been completed, and applicants have become familiar with the results. In recent days, however, an interesting trend has attracted attention. Some applicants use artificial intelligence or various editing programs to falsify their exam results, showing their scores higher than they are, and trying to hide this especially from their parents. However, their real results come to light during the specialty selection stage.
It is interesting, what is the main reason that drives young people to such fraud? Parental pressure, fear of failure, or society's high expectations?
Sona Aliyeva, an "Honored Teacher" who gave a statement to AzEdu.az on the topic, stated that sometimes young people take exams not to be admitted to university, but to avoid disappointing their families and surroundings:
“At first glance, this issue can be evaluated simply as an attempt to lie or avoid responsibility. However, the unseen side of the issue is more important. It is indeed a thought-provoking matter, why is a young person forced to take this step knowing that the truth will come out in a few days? After all, that applicant knows very well that the real result will not remain hidden during the specialty selection stage. They simply try to gain psychological comfort for a few hours or a few days. This, in turn, makes us think about another problem.
In recent years, unfortunately, admission exams have ceased to be merely a process of checking knowledge and have, in a certain sense, become an indicator of social status. Our young people sometimes take exams not to be admitted to university, but to avoid disappointing their families, relatives, and social circle. The first question an applicant hears when leaving the exam hall is "How many points did you get?" In very few cases, they are asked "How do you feel?"
As a society, we love success very much. We heroize young people who score high, and we share their successes for days. But we are not interested in the psychological state of thousands of young people who score low. However, the admission exam is just one of hundreds of decisions a person makes in their life. It is a big mistake to turn it into the sole indicator of a person's worth and future”.
In some families, the admission exam has already become an exam not only for the applicant but for the entire family:
"The other side of the issue is related to family relationships. If a young person is hesitant to tell their parent their results as they are, it is not enough to discuss only the child's behavior. We must also ask ourselves why our children cannot easily share their failures with us? It is completely normal for parents to set high goals for their children.
The problem is not the existence of expectations, but those expectations turning into a psychological burden for the child. Unfortunately, in some families, the admission exam becomes an exam not only for the applicant but for the entire family. And the child calculates their parent's reaction, relatives' attitudes, and the possible judgment of their circle before announcing their results.
Another point is the invisible pressure created by social networks. Today, exam results have sometimes become more of a means of public display than individual achievement. Everyone shares high scores, but no one wants to talk about their failures. As a result, young people develop the mindset of "either I must win, or I must not be seen." The development of artificial intelligence technologies has further facilitated this behavior. What used to require Photoshop can now be done in a few seconds. Therefore, I believe that the problem is not in technology. Artificial intelligence is simply a new tool for an existing social problem".
It is a greater success for a child to be able to tell the truth, not the score they got:
"I do not evaluate this incident as the irresponsibility of young people. Of course, falsifying the result is not correct behavior and cannot be normalized. However, we cannot solve the problem by only blaming the young person. Because behind every behavior lie certain reasons. If an applicant considers it safer to create a fake result than to say they got a low score, this is a serious enough signal for us to think about our education and family environment. Parents should not forget a truth: it is a greater success for their child to be able to tell the truth, not the score they got. Because it is possible to get the score again, it is possible to change the specialty, and it is even possible to rebuild one's life. But restoring lost trust between a parent and child is not always easy.
Today, what we need most is not to raise children who score high. We need to raise young people who are not afraid to share their failures with their families, who are psychologically healthy, and who do not measure their worth only by exam results. Because an admission exam can determine a person's life, but it cannot determine who they are".
