Data of educational excellence are getting stained by the frequency of institutional compromises and examination malpractices. However the college system should clear its information to boost credibility. It begins with purging the system of saboteurs and making dishonest unattractive, IYABO LAWAL writes.
On the lately launched Senior Faculty Certificates Examination carried out by the Nationwide Examination Council (NECO), the Registrar, Prof. Dantani Wushishi, disclosed that 40 secondary faculties throughout 17 states have been concerned in mass dishonest.
In the identical vein, the West African Examination Council (WAEC), by way of the Head of Nigeria Workplace, Dr Amos Dangut, mentioned the physique withheld outcomes of about 215,267 candidates for alleged malpractices.
The Registrar, Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, whereas asserting outcomes of this 12 months’s Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), additionally mentioned the board launched outcomes of 1,842,464 candidates, withholding some 64,000 candidates’ outcomes for doable examination misconduct. Outcomes of 531 others have been finally launched.
Cheats within the nation’s educational ecosystem will not be taking part in catch-up. They’re matching the assorted educational establishments’ measures to cope with the embarrassing and insidious menace.
Dishonest has develop into so glamourised in Africa’s most populous nation {that a} cheat strolled into the federal parliament to develop into the quantity 4 strongest particular person. He was nailed, named and shamed. However he received a state pardon, and located his approach again within the authorities!
With what educational {qualifications}?Extra Nigerians are seeing examination malpractice as a norm or they’re turning into numb to the insidious plague.“He who is aware of the best way is aware of the books” is a typical assertion in Nigerian faculties. The 2 phrases that interpret the assertion are ‘examination malpractice,’ a menace that has develop into a norm, and the undoing of high quality training in Nigeria.
The combat in opposition to examination malpractice in Nigeria has been ongoing for years, however it has constructed a powerful defence line fortified by characters inside: college students, academics, dad and mom, and poverty.
All these mixed to make the hope of victory over it a mere dream. The start of examination malpractice in Nigeria could possibly be traced to 1914 when it was reported that the query papers of Senior Cambridge Native Examinations have been leaked to the scholars even earlier than the examination day.
From then on, the apply progressively turned an unwelcomed visitor who doesn’t need to go away. Ultimately, it turned contagiously daring, infecting increasingly individuals. Those that would have frowned at it noticed it as a simple solution to stroll over, and the development escalated to an abysmal state that has swallowed not solely high quality training, however its impact within the society.
In 1970, the West African Examination Council (WAEC), to its chagrin, witnessed for the primary time, mass dishonest throughout the examinations. Enabled by extra members who had sacrificed morality on the altar of easiness and acquire, examination malpractice hit a brand new alarming peak. Dad and mom and guardians, academics and examiners, all turned culprits within the cynical sport. It was spreading like a virus and wanted to be contained.
In 1977, a judicial fee of inquiry was set as much as verify the explanations for the shortcomings within the conduct of West African Senior Faculty Certificates Examination (WASSCE) and the late launch of outcomes.
The committee’s findings didn’t shock many, because it was one thing apparent to WAEC workers: an extreme workload that has resulted in negligence and inefficiency. Within the suggestion of the committee, the proposal to ascertain different examination our bodies was made, as it will take some masses off the shoulders of WAEC, and supply room for it to manage examination affairs effectively.
Chopping the dimensions of examination candidates was additionally really useful, as overcrowding was reported to have enabled the examination’s physique incapability to invigilate exams credibly. However the suggestion did little or nothing to salvage the state of affairs, 13 years later, the numbers leapfrogged.
In 1990, a survey reported that about 70 per cent of scholars admitted to having engaged in a single type of examination malpractice or the opposite. The report famous that from 1991, the menace had taken a brand new extra subtle dimension in each secondary and tertiary training establishments, prompting the federal government to enact a regulation making any type of examination malpractice punitive by 4 years imprisonment. But it surely turned extra of encouragement than deterrence.
By the 12 months 2000, about six per cent of 636,064 candidates have been concerned in a single sharp apply or the opposite. However then, it was solely the tip of the iceberg. In 2001, 5 per cent of the 1,025,185 examination candidates sought the shortcut to go. In 2002, 10.5 per cent of the 909,888 examination candidates received concerned in examination malpractice.
In 2003, the proportion of examination malpractices moved as much as 11 per cent from 1,066,831 candidates who sat the examination. The 12 months 2004 noticed one other increment: out of the 1,035,280 candidates, 11 per cent cheated.
The figures have been on the rise on a year-on-year foundation.Efforts to discover a everlasting answer to the cankerworm consuming by way of the credibility of training in Nigeria have been hitting a brick wall. The emergence of different examination our bodies like NECO and Nationwide Board for Technical Schooling (NABTEB), did reduce the workload for WAEC, however then offered extra rooms for malpractice.
Examination malpractice has develop into a thorn within the flesh of the council as a result of measures beforehand taken didn’t yield deterrent outcomes. Of their dedication to quell the menace, the examination our bodies had stipulated punishments in opposition to anybody caught within the act. The sanctions embody cancellation of candidates’ outcomes, barring of candidates from the examinations, and de-recognition of faculties, amongst others.
Even the four-year jail time period enacted in Nigerian regulation is pretty much as good because the others. The then council spokesperson, Evelyn Kandakai, registered her displeasure whereas highlighting the results of examination malpractice on nationwide and sub-regional improvement.She described it as “damaging” and what’s extra painful is that oldsters have develop into half and parcel of training corruption.
“Examination malpractice represents one of many worst types of corruption within the sector. Two crucial measurement ideas are severely compromised. Validity, which centres on whether or not the check measures what it’s imagined to measure, and reliability, which appears to be like into whether or not the check outcomes are constant.”
The businesses have continued to deploy all weapons of their arsenal and utilise each out there alternative to combat and discourage the die-hard perpetrators of examination malpractice.
“We have now made frantic appeals to all stakeholders within the training sector to accomplice with us within the combat in opposition to this scourge that’s endangering the standard of educational achievements and human capital improvement in our sub-region. The persistence of examination malpractice and its devastating results on instructional evaluation and analysis within the sub-region have worsened with the arrival of social media,” Kandakai mentioned.
Different heads of instructional organs additionally expressed issues over the mental sick the unfavourable development will deliver to bear on the general improvement of the nation and sub-region.
They famous that those that cheated their approach by way of the exams develop into liabilities as an alternative of property to the society as a result of they imagine that honesty is an extended path to success.
This assertion may be substantiated by many situations, amongst them, public workplace holders who’ve been caught up within the mess of certificates forgery, proof of viral influence examination malpractice has exerted on Nigeria.
There have been over seven public workplace holders caught in certificates forgery controversy; they’re all proof of the debacle that has been nurtured by way of many years of examination malpractice.
Artful devising of smuggling solutions to examination questions requires companions. Dad and mom, academics, and college students have develop into yoked within the cynicism. Greed, meagre wages and underpayment of educational workers have offered the sanctuary for examination malpractice to thrive.
Personal faculties’ directors promote particular centres and cost exorbitant costs for examination registration. In some instances, college students select whether or not to take a seat exams or have another person sit of their stead. In public faculties, college students who paid sufficient are supplied with solutions, whereas the invigilators are bribed to show a blind eye.
A youth corps member, who served in Sokoto State, narrated how the authorities would maintain invigilators entertained distant from examination halls, whereas the academics write the solutions on the board for college students.
In 2021, the Commissioner for Schooling in Kogi State, had introduced that 47 faculties within the state have been banned by WAEC from serving as centres for its examination resulting from blatant disregard for the council’s examination of malpractice guidelines. The faculties have been reported to be infamous for aiding and abetting examination malpractice. Different faculties have been additionally sanctioned across the nation.
In Could, JAMB introduced in its weekly bulletin that 5 individuals have been convicted for his or her involvement in a single type of examination malpractice or the opposite. The board additionally acknowledged that 76 computer-based check (CBT) centres have been de-listed for his or her involvement in malpractice.
Makes an attempt by governments and training authorities to quell the surge have yielded little or no outcome. It, due to this fact, highlighted the necessity for a proactive and progressive method.
In view of the challenges, the Federal Ministry of Schooling mentioned it has developed kits that may improve the invigilation of examinations throughout the nation.An educationist, Dr Bolaji Aduroja, lamented that examination malpractice has develop into a monster tearing by way of training and different sectors of the economic system, calling for collective efforts to combat the monster to a standstill, and protect the integrity of Nigerian training.
Aduroja mentioned the entire state of affairs is worrisome and known as for concerted efforts from all events. He expressed confidence that the measures taken thus far will assist to understand fraud-free examinations in Nigeria.
“Additionally it is fascinating to notice that the Federal Ministry of Schooling, by way of the examination ethics desk, in collaboration with all related examination our bodies, has developed monitoring devices.
“This has been attested to be of a global commonplace and has been efficiently used to watch exams in JAMB, NECO, TRCN, and NTI,” he added. The founding father of EEMI, Mr Ike Onyechere, additionally voiced his concern over the matter. He mentioned examination malpractice has develop into not simply a simple approach out for college students, however a cartel.
Onyechere defined: “Examination malpractice has since gone past being a matter of indiscretion by college students attempting to safe an unfair benefit to go examinations. It’s now an organised felony enterprise, with prepared advertising, keen and conniving dad and mom and college operators.
“It’s akin to cash laundering, smuggling, human trafficking, kidnapping, operated by enterprise syndicates, whose core enterprise is to generate income by compromising examination programs in major, secondary and tertiary training.”
High quality training is manifest by innovation and demanding pondering that ends in improvement. In a nation the place examination malpractice thrives, myopic mindset, ignorance, disingenuity, and corruption characterise the individuals, and underdevelopment tells the story.
The state of affairs, consultants famous, isn’t hopeless. They tasked the nation’s businesses chargeable for the promotion of ethics to do greater than offering soundbites and visuals. Their messages needs to be directed to the hearts in addition to heads of everybody concerned within the malpractice.
They reminded the federal government that examination malpractice is a criminal offense and suspects needs to be prosecuted accordingly.In addition they famous that the society, utilizing the media and different platforms, ought to disseminate messages that intentionally de-emphasise materialism and ‘paper’ {qualifications}.
What’s extra: they steered that honesty needs to be handsomely rewarded; not infrequently, however on a regular basis. Many stakeholders additionally famous that overpopulation in lecture rooms typically ends in dishonest. They urge the federal government to supply extra faculties, construct extra lecture rooms. Then, they discuss offering satisfactory and immediate remuneration for the workers of educational establishments.
