What is the ruling on doing homework and evaluation tests for students, and writing reports and essays for them?

Question: 351559

We are a group of teachers working in a private school, which we are running and it is the source of our income. As we are sure you are aware, things have changed and students now learn online, and homework and tests are also done online. This means that students can now do their homework and their tests themselves, from the book, but these tests are limited to a particular time. We work doing homework and tests, and writing reports and essays, as this is becoming our only source of income these days in private schools. We heard that doing these tests is dubious and could be haraam, so we stopped doing it until our boss asked a shaykh about that, and he gave him a fatwa saying that it is permissible to do homework, evaluation tests, short tests and write reports and essays, so long as it is not the final exam, and that there is nothing wrong with that. Based on that, the boss forced us to carry on doing regular tests and homework, and writing reports and essays. We hope that you can advise us about this matter.

Summary of answer

What you are doing of doing the homework instead of the students is prohibited, and it comes under the heading of cheating or deceiving, which is a major sin.

Answer

Table Of Contents

Cheating in tests is haraam
Ruling on cheating in homework and evaluation tests

Cheating in tests is haraam

The basic principle is that it is haraam to cheat in exams and the like, because of the report narrated by Muslim (102) from Abu Hurayrah, that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Whoever cheats is not of me.”

Doing tests or helping students to do them is deceiving the state, because the student receives his certificate on the basis of cheating and deceit, when he does not deserve it. In fact it is also deceiving the Muslims in general, because by means of deceit weak students will graduate and take jobs and positions for which they are not qualified.

Ruling on cheating in homework and evaluation tests

With regard to doing homework, evaluation tests and short tests, it is deceiving the parents and educational supervisory committees, because homework is part of education that prepares students for the final exams, and helps them to understand the subject.

How can students be taught and how can the educational process be conducted properly on the basis of faulty evaluation?

How can students pay attention and take the educational process seriously in the first place, if there is no follow-up, and no homework that they should do, spend effort in doing and do it themselves?

If there was no benefit in homework and evaluation tests, the education system would not require them.

Based on that, what you are doing of doing the homework instead of the students is prohibited, and it comes under the heading of cheating or deceiving, which is a major sin.

For more information, please see the answers to the following questions:

And Allah knows best.

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