Brussels (Brussels Morning) – In protest against Gaza violence, Flemish university supervisors refuse to monitor exam cheating, urging rectors to address international law violations by Israeli institutions. About twenty doctoral students support the strike, promoting an academic boycott.
In protest against the violence in Gaza, a group of supervisors at Flemish universities refused to monitor cheating and other violations during the current examination period. “As long as our rectors look away from violations of international law by Israeli institutions, we will also do the same when students break rules,” they declare. The call has already been signed by about twenty doctoral students from Ghent University, Antwerp University, VUB and KULeuven.
Why Are Doctoral Students Refusing to Monitor Cheating?
“We are a collective of doctoral and postdoctoral students and researchers at Ghent University,” explains one of the initiators.
“We believe that our universities are still not doing enough and are looking away from the genocide in Gaza. They also ignore the demands of the students and the rulings of the human rights commissions. That is why we turn a blind eye when students cheat during exams.”
It has been said that it remains to be seen whether the call will expand further, but the so-called ‘surveillance strike’ initially seems to receive support at Ghent University, where an occupation of the UFO building got out of hand on Friday. The police had to intervene and the rector requested the evacuation of the university building, where exams were also scheduled on Monday. These did not go ahead, but there has not been a forced eviction for the time being. Mediation is underway between the university and the activists.
What Actions Are Belgian Academics Taking Against Gaza Violence?
The doctoral students and sympathetic professors express their support for the occupiers, who are calling for an academic boycott. “As doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers, we feel compelled to support our students and take action,” the group explains. At the start of the exams, they will start a so-called ‘invigilation strike’.
“This means that junior staff who supervise exams and check for cheating will not report students who are caught doing so (and thus violate the academic code of ethics). To make it clear who is participating in the strike, we will move through the auditoriums and exam halls, clearly marked with buttons, pins, stickers or keffiyehs (a traditional Arabic head scarf, ed.).”
The symbolic action should send a signal to the university management. The supervisors indicated that they do not want to give students the signal that they are allowed to cheat or neglect their studies.
“We are assigned an exam for which we have to invigilate,” explains PhD student Anissa.
“The students don’t know who is supervising. So we will wear a pin or a keffiyeh to demonstrate that. But we will supervise so that the exams cannot be cancelled. Students do not know who is participating in the action until they enter the exam hall.”
