A ghostwriter who worked for the Chinese company Assignment Joy has revealed that they completed thousands of assignments for international students enrolled at Australian universities.
The Kenyan national told The Australian that they wish to remain anonymous out of fear of reprisals from the company that describes itself as an “essay writing service” on its website, which specialises in universities in Britain, Australia, the US, New Zealand, and Canada.
The whistleblower revealed that Assignment Joy, based in Jiangsu (north of Shanghai), for AU$150 per 1000 words arranges assignments for international students.
The company also advertises “Australian thesis writing” services with C grade papers costing just AU$30 per 250 words, AU$40 for “B Grade Pro” and AU$60 for “A Grade PhD.”
The ghostwriter said:
“It’s all kinds of students but the major market is Chinese foreign students; they’re 60 per cent of
the entire market.”
They added that around 50 other ghostwriters were subcontracted to do assignments for them and this Chinese company.
The Australian during its investigation has obtained orders and completed university assignments for the University of Sydney, the University of Melbourne, the University of Queensland, the University of South Australia, Macquarie University, and Torrens University as well as several TAFEs.
The ghostwriter added:
“If you’ve seen all the things I’ve seen your mind would be blown. You would come to the conclusion that I have come to realise that the education system is just a sham. I have some students who I have worked for since their first year and I’ve done all the assignments until they graduate, just pass and get all the grades.”
This ghostwriter claims that they have written assignments for bachelor’s and master’s students who are pursuing nursing, health science, education, psychology, and business administration at major Australian universities.
The University of Sydney has confirmed to The Australian that it will investigate this case as they have seen an increase in “aggressive activity” from contract cheating companies.
The Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (TEQSA) has blocked 40 academic cheating sites which had traffic of about 450,000 times a month but Assignment Joy was not included on the list and still continues to operate.
Australia’s Minister for Education Jason Clare MP has called such websites criminal in their operation. He observed:
“Illegal cheating services threaten academic integrity and expose students to criminals, who often attempt to blackmail students into paying large sums of money.”
Such cheating websites are used to sell students’ essays, help in online assessments, and accept payment for someone else to sit exams on a student’s behalf. Most Australian universities have started using advanced online anti-cheat software to deter students from academic misconduct. However, these companies create a way around this anti-cheat software.
Dr Ritesh Chugh, Associate Professor at CQ University, Australia (Image supplied)
Last year, academics from the Central Queensland University (CQU) authored a research paper on academic integrity and academic misconduct.
The CQU researchers observed:
“Participants expressed a feeling of anger when they discovered their students had intentionally cheated, while others were visibly distressed and upset at the thought their students had committed academic misconduct accidentally because they had not engaged with any training.”
Dr Ritesh Chugh, an Associate Professor at Central Queensland University, was one of the authors of the above research paper. He told The Australia Today that it is important for Australian academics to tell international students about the strict penalties that come with academic misconduct.
Dr Chugh says:
“Education, prevention and detection play a vital role in combatting academic misconduct. Academics should not hesitate to discuss their knowledge of contract cheating opportunities with students. In addition, it is important to tell students they are being observed, and misconduct incidents come with strict penalties, some of which can even be applied after graduation.”
Dr Chugh adds that a blend of actions from regulatory agencies and educational institutions is required to curb this growing menace.