The National Examinations Council has expressed its readiness to take on measures necessary to tackle cases of exam malpractice in all its examinations.
The Registrar/Chief Executive of the examination body, Professor Ibrahim Dantani Wushishi, made this known during a one-day sensitization workshop on examination malpractice in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
During the workshop which was themed: ‘The Role of Education Stakeholders in Tackling Examination Malpractice in Nigeria’, the NECO boss called for concerted efforts to address the problem.
He said, “One of the biggest challenges bedeviling the conduct of public examinations now is the issue of examination malpractice.
“This workshop is therefore both thoughtful and timely, and should address the ways and means that can be adopted to curb the menace and re-orient the minds of the youths concerning this cankerworm, as no nation develops when its youths indulge in sharp practices such as examination malpractice.
“No doubt, examination malpractice has the tendency to discourage hard work among serious students, lowers educational standards, discredit certificates, and lead to the production of quacks, thereby affecting the manpower needs of the nation.
“We must therefore take collective responsibility to rid them of this bad habit of wanting to cut corners.”
Wushishi listed the measures the council had taken to correct the problem of examination malpractice, including: “Effective conduct of accreditation and re-accreditation exercise in schools, biometric data capturing of candidates to check impersonation of candidates registered for examination and to help identify miracle centres where examination malpractice are perpetrated.
“Others are use of officers of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps to provide security at examination centres to prevent miscreants/agents of examination malpractice, provision of covert operations by officers of the Department of State Service to guide against compromising examination through the internet, daily distribution of examination question papers and other sensitive materials, monitoring of marking exercise to ensure that best practices are observed, among others.”
