The Need to Tame Examination Malpractice

By Sani Surajo Abubakar

I write this piece as someone who taught in a private school for almost a decade though not professionally trained to teach but ended up teaching English language, as private schools owners do improvise in employing teachers who doesn’t read any displine related to teaching.

My long stay in the school led to my appointment as the examinations officer a well-known private school in Kano metropolis saddled with the responsibility of co-coordinating internal and external examinations and engaged as external WAEC Supervisor for years. This made me to understand so many reasons why in recent years, examination Malpractice is on the increase not only in Kano but the country as a whole.

All will concur with me how examination Malpractice in the last two decades became bush fire in the country where parents and children are hell-bent in passing their examinations especially at the ordinary (secondary school) level by hook or crook.

The ugly trend resulted in the sprang of mushroom private schools, study centers and the so called “miracle”centres that aided the malpractice with the connivance and support of other stakeholders who supposed to frown at it.

From the little experience i gathered as an improvised classroom teacher cum examination officer, all the stakeholders must be blamed in one way or the other for contributing in making the menace to escalate and spread like cancer slowly damaging the education sector that may lead its gradual collapse in a near future throughout the nation.

To begin with parents who are the major promoters of the bad trend, Most of them encourage their children in following shortcuts to get “magic results” fully aware of the consequences of the unwarranted acts capable of destroying the future of their wards in whatever position they found themselves either as Public servants, in the organized or in community engagements to mention but a few.

We have seen so many instances where parents registered and escorted their children to miracle JAMB, WAEC, or NECO centers to ensure all what it takes was done for the success of their children who are the leaders of tomorrow.

As for the students who are the principal actors in the crime, became reluctant in facing their studies squarely as they have always been assured that something (solved answers) is coming and this made them to become adamant in studying hard for the exams and in case the local arrangements fails to work, it mean total failure that day or for that particular subject.

In the other hand, so much blame on the subject of discussion should be on the government’s side. The rot in the education sector prompted even the education managers at all levels of government not to enroll their children in public schools for them to graduate in flying colours especially at basic and post-basic levels.

The preference given to paper qualification in employment, other career related issues instead of practical experience, compounded the problem at stake. Employers of labour particularly at the government’s angle prioritize paper qualification for jobs vacancies a situation that made job seekers and those that need promotion to jostle for paper qualification to get jobs, promotion, or for obvious reasons.

Examinations bodies too are not left out in the mess. It is a known fact how unscrupulous officials of the such bodies compromises the standard of their organisations and allow malpractices in schools they were sent to supervise to go unabated on recipe of token stipend (reward)either in kind, in cash, or both.

There are so many allegations on preference postings to senior examinations supervisors to presume “lucrative” examination centres with in high-class schools in major cities of the country.

It is also alleged that some bad eggs among the custodians of examinations questions papers leaked the papers to schools proprietors prior to the examinations schedule dates, time, and this allowed candidates and their cohorts in sins to be fully prepared for the heinous acts and get answers to the examinations questions before the stipulated time.

Pundits posits that examinations malpractice is a gangrene affecting the education sector and if not stopped it will not lead to only amputation will destroy all sectors of human endeavors contrary to medical practice where only the organ affected by gangrene is removed.

To tame the menace of examinations malpractice in order to restore the lost glory of the education sector, produce employable, knowledgeable, and well-trained manpower for the public and private organizations, all stakeholders must be on deck and do needful in that direction.

To begin with, there is the need for parents to always ginger their children to learn the hard way as there is no short cut to success. This will help in no small measures in orienting their wards the need to follow the right channel in their educational pursue for better life in their adulthood.

Also, they should be preaching relentlessly on the ills of indulging in examinations wrong doings and inculcate moral attitudes for their wards to abhor and frown at it in case of advances by their peers or perpetrators of the act in their respective schools or the society at large.

As for the students, there is the need to revert to the old tradition of studentship by regular attendance to school, doing homework, extra studies on daily basis or any other appropriate time and work hard to pass assignments and examinations both internal and external always.

They should also strive to inculcate and continue to practice the habit of abhorring or disliking any form of malpractice of any type of whatever magnitude and at whatever level or condition for prosperous Nigeria, well-mannered and cultured younger generations.

In the governments’ territories, provisions should be made to overhaul the education sector through building adequate classrooms, supply of modern teaching aides, and regular intensive training for teachers and schools administrators in conformity with global standard of pedagogy.

Also, law should be made to enforce all governments officials to take their children to public schools at least at basic and post-basic levels, and ensure that defaulters are made to face the wrath of the law to serve as deterrence to those who might tend to be recalcitrant.

Furthermore, the welfare of teachers at all levels of government must be given utmost attention through special salary package for teachers, reinvigoration of teacher training colleges and establishment of education council at the local, states and federal tiers consisting of educationist of high repute who will be advising governments periodically on the appropriate direction on education issues.

The examinations bodies too needs to do the needful in the crusade against examination Malpractice by putting stiffer security measures against question papers leakages, ensure punishment to their staff found sabotaging the examination administration process including schools and study centers owners.

In the same line, schools found engaging in examination Malpractice, their license should be withdrawn, impose hefty fines on them.

Conclusively, there is the need for paradigm shift in giving preference to paper qualification to practical experience as this will promote creativity and will aid hunting of talents whose if their creativity was tapped will be of immense benefit to all.

All the stakeholders needs to put hands on deck in wiping out the scourge of examination Malpractice as sound and vibrant education system is the bedrock of any development one can think of.

Sani is the Staff of Kano State Ministry of Information and Internal Affairs