Unlawful or not, ethical or not, writing essays for other people will end up in a scenario where countries will be ruled by people who cannot write a single essay for themselves. And what will happen to valid and competent writers? They will still remain at the bottom, writing for a pay that's not even a 1/100 of 1% of his mind's worth and catching fishes for other people who were never taught how to fish.
Writers should strive hard to make writing a credit-worthy profession that values owning knowledge in general, and consequently, the writer's own knowledge.
Here's an idea; how about showing them where the nets lay, provide them manuals on fish-catching (e.g. The Idiot's Guide to Writ -er- fishing) and then watch them tow with their nets the hundred squiggling fishes into their boat. And if they tumble and fall off the boats, at least we'd have something to laugh over with.