Plagiarism continues to plague public universities

 

Plagiarism is defined as “the practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as one’s own”. In my long career as an academic, I’ve discovered that this practice is second nature to both students and lecturers.

What is more mindboggling is how it has been explained away as “something that is done everywhere, not just in Malaysia”.

A few years ago, several news reports highlighted the problem of plagiarism in Malaysian public universities. One such article began with the paragraph “public universities have always worked hard to reduce and do away with dishonesty and the unethical working culture in their institutions as they are public entities that represent the government and nation in higher education.”

Herein lies the first problem: public universities are understood as “representing” the government rather than being independent institutions of thought that add value to government policies and society at large.

Logically, it could also mean that public universities are expected to mirror the dishonest practices that abound in government departments and among politicians. Furthermore, the expression “represent the government and nation in higher education” projects a distorted view of ordinary Malaysians.

Our “nation” state of Malaysia today projects dishonesty. There’s widespread corruption, elite convicts are free to roam while petty thieves are punished, there’s rising poverty and there is also the politicisation of race and religion. All these developments are indicative of a leadership with questionable morals.

However, most ordinary Malaysians are embarrassed to be globally recognised for the wrong reasons. Going back to the problem of plagiarism, the same article quoted a full professor, who said the following:

“Whether integrity is still alive or not in public universities in Malaysia is never a big issue because public universities have always been monitored and closely scrutinised by many agencies, including the MQA (Malaysian Qualifications Agency), professional accreditation bodies, the National Audit Department and not forgetting the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC). Academic integrity or plagiarism, as claimed by a graduate of a public university, is not an isolated case in the world. It is happening all around the world because lecturers or supervisors are the directors of research for the student during their studies.”

There is something seriously wrong with the professor’s statement.

First, there is a lot wrong if there are repeated allegations of plagiarism among Malaysian academics despite these agencies he mentioned. All these allegations cannot be mere lies.

To the contrary, plagiarism is a big issue. Isn’t dishonesty a big issue anywhere and under any circumstance? After all, plagiarism is officially defined as “academic dishonesty”.

Second, just because it happens “all around the world” does not make it acceptable.

Third, there is suspicion in how closely plagiarism is monitored by the agencies he mentions as well as the universities themselves. If there is indeed monitoring going on, why has there been an increase in both students and lecturers engaging in unethical publication practices?

Furthermore, in the midst of rising plagiarism, the fact that there are “supervisors” in charge of student research means both are complicit. This is simple logic.

Publishing in predatory journals is another aspect of academic dishonesty. This phenomenon is also about the global “publish or perish” culture that has infected global academia.

It is closely linked to the oppressive university ranking game and higher education’s capitalist ethos of profit maximisation in knowledge production.

It is embedded in neo-liberal capitalism and the “business” of education. The system pressures students and academics to pay to have their articles and books published.

We may gloat that “our research funds helped us to publish” but what we are really saying is “as long as the fee is paid, quality need not be primary.”

In Malaysian public universities, publication performance translates into the widespread acceptance of quantity over quality. Writing and publishing an article is all that matters. Who cares about the content, the quality of the discussion, the issues raised, the standard of the debate presented, the recommendations listed in the article by the author, or even the grammatical accuracy of the language used?

One can argue that one’s article must be excellent if it is accepted for publication in a world-class journal.

However, let us look at this hypothetical scenario. Lecturer A publishes the required number of Q1-Q4 journal articles as well as a plethora of plagiarised articles published jointly with students and colleagues. These academics are deemed prolific and team players, who selflessly elevate the name of the university.

Lecturer B publishes only high-quality journal articles, meeting the required number, but refuses to publish elsewhere or with others because of the problem of plagiarism and other fraudulent activities.

In the final analysis, Lecturer A has published 180 articles in his career, both single and co-authored, while Lecturer B has only 60, and mostly single-authored. It is almost certain who will be promoted and who will be sidelined.

Thus, what is the ultimate meaning of “monitoring” or “closely scrutinising”? Should we monitor the quantity of publications or the detailed character of the academic, which includes the quality of her publications, her attitude towards scholarship and her ethical stand on the publication process?

This is why plagiarism thrives here. Most public universities in Malaysia have official rules to prevent it. They also have dedicated units or departments that address this problem. However, these problems are addressed if and when they are reported. The reality is the bulk of cases remain unreported.

Is such under-reporting due to the lack of expertise in checking for plagiarism? Is it due to the ulterior motive of lecturers and students who want so desperately to be published? Is it the ambition to graduate a student on time so that it looks good on a lecturer’s annual assessment? Is it to avoid the long process of identifying, isolating and punishing the individuals responsible? Or is it mere apathy and the absence of honour in the noble profession of higher education?

Ultimately, plagiarism in Malaysia’s higher education has become a necessary tool to churn out 20 or 30 articles per year just so it satisfies the requirements for promotion and recognition. Students are involved when their publications are required for their degree. So lecturer and student become partners in academic theft and fraud.

My piece is one of many already written. Yet things have gotten worse. - FMT

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT.