Accounting For You
Accounting and Bookkeeping for Small Businesses and Sole Traders
Chartered Management Accountant, Certified Practising Accountant
and Registered Tax Agent
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Freelace Websites - A new way for students to cheat?
Posted on 12 October, 2014 at 23:07 |
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The last
few years have seen the birth of freelance websites. I first heard about them
at an accountancy conference while attending a talk given by the founder of
Freelancer. The aim
behind Freelancer was very good, connecting businesses that needed work doing
with freelancers who could do the work. Initially the idea was that there were
many people in third world countries who could do the work at a fraction of the
price than you would pay elsewhere but who would still, at the same time, be
getting much more money than they could earn locally. In other words a win-win situation. Of course
over time this has developed with freelancers just as likely to be from the
Western world. However, as
someone who keeps an eye on what freelance work is available, one of the things
that I have been most surprised about is the number of “assignments” that are
being put up for work. Now when I say assignments I am talking about students
who are contracting out their study related assignments. Students, who instead
of properly following their course and doing the work themselves, are actually
paying other people to do it for them. What I don’t
understand is if someone is not prepared to do the work themselves, then why
are they doing the study in the first place? How on earth does a student expect
to learn their subject properly if they don’t do any of their assignments
themselves? It would seem some students have found a new way to cheat. They no
longer need to copy someone’s work they just pay for it to be done for them. Concern has
often been expressed at the number of young adults who leave school unable to
read or write. Should we now be concerned about future graduates as to whether
or not they actually know their subject?
Then of
course there is the whole work ethic. If these students are too lazy to do
their assignments themselves then what kind of employees will they make?
So while freelance websites are a great idea I just
think it’s such a shame that there are cheating students out there taking
advantage of them. |
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