DepEd seeks PNP help vs online cheating

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine National Police (PNP) has joined government interventions against online social media groups that were created to cheat in online learning examinations, an official said on Tuesday.

PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar said the Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) has been ordered to coordinate with the Department of Education (DepEd) in dealing with reports that students from different schools collectively exchange answers to their distance learning tasks and examinations through social media groups.

“After we heard DepEd Secretary Leonor Briones’ call for help, our ACG has been ordered to coordinate with DepEd to determine the help that the PNP could offer in this incsident,” Eleazar said.

Viral posts by several social media users including teachers showed that the “Online Kopyahan” scheme by students belonging to an eponymous Facebook group reached the DepEd last week, prompting Briones to seek the help of authorities.

In the Facebook group, students were allegedly exchanging answer keys and asking other students to provide answers to activities and exams, thereby casting doubt on the mechanisms put in place by the government to ensure fruitful learning among students in the wake of the distance learning scheme implemented due to COVID.

Briones said any form of cheating would never be tolerated by the agency.

Eleazar said the PNP would help the DepEd address the scheme among students.

The National Bureau of Investigation is conducting a separate probe on the matter.