Examination malpractices in Nigeria: Which way out?

Editor’s note: Despite the various attempt by the government and stakeholders to curb the menace, examination malpractices in Nigeria, students no longer want to study but rely on cheating to pass their exams. The entire educational system is politically bastardised by those that pilot the affairs of the education sector in the country.

Timothy Opaluwa in this article writes on the decay in the educational sector in the country. The author sights that  the purpose of setting up various examination bodies is being defeated by educational manipulators.

Exam Malpractices In Nigeria: Which Way Out?

By Timothy Opaluwa

It was not surprising to see him submitting his answer sheet about 30 minutes after the commencement of the exam which was supposed to last for two hours and thirty minutes. Moses Benson, popularly called by friends and classmates as Mobutu, has always been in the habit of cheating in exams right from when he was in the primary school.

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Mobutu’s classmates were dazed about how he would go scot free and perform excellently in exams even when he is been caught cheating. Many also wonder how he gets the answer to the entire questions before exams.

Luck ran out on Mobutu and his cliques while they were in their final year. The atmosphere in the exam hall that faithful day was tensed as students waited patiently for their exam papers and invigilators to arrive. To their utter amazement, the head of department, who was known to be a very strict man, happens to be one of the supervisors. It was therefore not long that the H.O.D and his team got hold of all the students involved in exam malpractices including Mobutu. They were later expelled from the university after proper investigation was carried out.

Barely three decades ago students were always determined to burn their midnight candles for any examination while parents and teachers were ready to provide all available modalities and assistance for them to pass their examinations without worries. It is now sad that parents and teachers are now aiding and assisting in examination malpractice while government institutions are the major players of these destructive vices in Nigeria.

Despite various interventions by government and stakeholders, the scourge has reached frightening levels. Students no longer take their studies seriously because of the decay in the educational sector in the country. The entire educational system is politically bastardised by those that pilot the affairs of the education sector in Nigeria.

Interestingly, students who are dullest in the system, are gaining admissions into the nation’s universities without stress. It is now ridiculous to see dull students having excellent grades in their examinations and surprisingly, these students cannot even spell their names or write simple sentences in English. Some graduates now have first and second class uppers that they cannot defend. The purpose of setting up various examination bodies to test the ability of students in Nigeria is being defeated by educational manipulators.

Worried by the spate of examination malpractices in Nigeria,the WAEC Head of Test Administration, Mrs Frances Iweha-Onukwu, identified examination malpractice as a major challenge militating against the council’s operation.

According to her, the scourge is a canker worm that has eaten deep in the fabric among candidates, not only in Nigeria, but also in member countries.

For the Proprietor of Charis International School, Akoh Joseph, school teachers are one of the major contributors of exam malpractices.

“It may surprise you to discover that even when some university authorities had banned the sales of handouts, some lecturers still engaging on it and even leaking examination questions to students for substantial amount of money. Some demand money for test and examination from students to have good grades. Sometimes exchange marks for sex,” Joseph stated.

Adding, the proprietor said, “The special centres for candidates are also not helping matters as they are another problem causing high profile examination malpractices in Nigeria. Some of the classified tutorial classes are meant for examination malpractices which many candidates register with to have good grades in their examinations.

Agreeing with Joseph, an educational expert, Dr Benjamin Okolo, the falling standard of education in Nigeria is the major causes of examination malpractices.

“Corruption has eaten deep into the fabric of education in Nigeria, which is why if any Nigerian student wants to go to foreign university, he or she must pass through their education system before giving any formal admission because of the polluted Nigeria educational system in recent times. Our private and public schools are nothing to write home about. Most school owners across the country are also perpetrators of these examination malpractices. In fact, no examination body in the country is spared from malpractices at all,” Okolo noted.

Continuing, he said emphasis on paper qualification or certificate than theoretical knowledge is another cause of examination malpractices in the country.

“It makes students to have more drive for certificates than acquiring knowledge. We must not allow the drive of paper qualification to over shadow our educational system in Nigeria. Some people who are not university graduates today performed better in their theoretical knowledge.

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“Also, the incessant ASUU strikes and non-payment of lecturers’ salaries due to insensitivity of government about the value of education is also causing the high brain-drain of lecturers therefore leading to high rate of corruption and exam malpractices in the tertiary institutions.

On the way out, Joseph pointed that government must be ready to invest in the educational sector properly while parent and teachers should desist from encouraging students to be involved in exam malpractices. “Government must without fear or favour review and properly monitor the various exam special centres in the country in order to install some sense of transformation in the system,” he added.

On his own part, Okolo said adequate funds should be budgeted to the sector to avoid brain-drain of lecturers and students in Nigeria.

This article first appeared on Leadership

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