It was quite depressing to watch students on a private news channel, admitting that they had cheated on their first day of Matriculation examinations. The girls confidently faced the camera and confessed that everybody in the examination room was copying and peeking therefore they followed suit. The boys were of the same opinion that they faced the same anarchy during their exam and found it fair to cheat as well. The worse part of it was that all the students considered government for being responsible for the whole scenario. It is not only a sign of despair but also indicates the element of hypocrisy prevailing in our society. Students are the future of Pakistan, who are going to be the architects of this nation. They are the only ray of hope we have amongst this deteriorating society and so it was quite alarming to watch these young people defending the heinous act of cheating. Several students mentioned that authorities such as the police and some teachers were also involved. There were students who had answer copies prepared beforehand. All this was aired on national television proving the fact that the future generation of Pakistan is not going to make any difference to improve the countrys situation. To cheat is a crime indeed but to justify it is a bigger crime. Holding the government responsible is not a valid excuse. In fact there cannot be an excuse at all. According to the students, the unjust attitude of the administration 'lured them into cheating. It is by far the weakest explanation of all. The students are never forced to cheat in an examination room unless and until they themselves do it willingly. I cannot imagine Pakistan in the hands of these students as it will be as lost as their own futures. One of the students also lamented about the fact that the question paper is mostly out of syllabus and eventually they start to discuss answers in the examination room in which sometimes the invigilators are also very active participants. Its not the teachers, the police or even the government who are at fault but it is us, the students, who need to re-examine ourselves. If we find cheating justifiable then no government can come and save us. We will never do anything significant in this world and might be termed as 'skilled cheaters after being called terrorists. FATIMAH MAZHAR ALI, Karachi, April 25.