Umar Talib, very interesting and pertinent thread :k:
I’ve come across such situations many times in my student life, from both sides, receiving and giving help. To be honest about my feelings on this issue, I don’t think its the ideal situation and it is best avoided if possible, but I think it is okay.
I never refused to help anyone ever, even (in the case of close friends) if that meant giving them my program or assignment to copy straight off. For people I was not close friends with, I’d still try to help but maybe not give them my program not because I was scared of competition but because I didn’t know them and didn’t know if I could trust them that much. For my close friends, if there were many days left for the submission of the assignment then I’d try to help them do it without giving them the work so they would learn too, but sometimes when the other person is too desperate and so stressed or the deadline is too near, and that person is a good friend of yours, you just want to see them come out of that worried state and you feel like you must help them in any way you can. I’ve landed in serious trouble once over it too, but I still think I did the right thing, even though by the laws of the institution I did not. What matters in the end is: A friend screwed up by procrastinating or just not having enough confidence in their skills, is at a point now where they need help, and you are at a position to help them, and you must…
I’ve also been helped by others many times. And I will never ever forget the help that I was given, I am extremely extremely grateful and indebted and only I know what a fix I was in and how many duas came out of my heart for the people who helped me. may Allah swt keep them happy and reward them. I think those who helped me were more generous and bigger hearted than those who just helped me superficially but didn’t extend complete help as much as they could.
I think though that both parties should be on the lookout for each other and try to do it in such a way that you don’t get caught. Being a Computer Science student, and with the anti-code-plagiarism program MOSS, I’ve been in this situation many times. In fact this is good because if you really go through the program and change it, then you can learn it as well. The one who copies should try to understand the assignment oneself so they can learn the material themselves as well.
Faisal bhai is right about LUMS and IBA. There is some scary cut throat competition there. Some people don’t want to help each other in the least. However, that’s not true for everyone. Friends do help each other. My friends and I have always helped each other in school. Its a reciprocatory thing though. I did have friends who did not believe in helping and I can see their point too. I think its a matter of how good the friend is and how much you trust each other and care for each other.
One very important thing though is that the other person shouldn’t make it into a habit and start depending on help. They should make an effort to get their work done themselves too, and asking for help should be reserved for rare and extreme situations because its best to do one’s work oneself.
And yes it it true, I’ve seen this trend more in the desi [Paki, Indian] and Arab and Muslim communities in college. My brothers went to Computer Science colleges in Pakistan and this ‘help’ culture is very prevalent in Pakistan, in assignments and even exams. It is very much a part of the college culture in Pakistan.
At the end of the day, I don’t think exam results and your scores matter. What matters is your character and how many true friends you’ve made in life and how many people might give yuo duas for things you might have done for them…
