Public Awareness of Malpractice during the Examinations by WAEC in Nigeria


Academic Paper, 2017

19 Pages


Excerpt


2
Abstract
The rate of candidates' involvement in malpractice during the public examinations conducted across
West African subregion is of great concern to many stakeholders. In spite of stringent measures
taken to curb malpractice, the rate of involvement seems to be increasing geometrically. It is in
reaction to this worrisome trend that this study was conducted to probe into the root-cause of
continuous indulgence in malpractice during the examinations conducted by the West African
Examinations Council (WAEC) in Nigeria. This is with a view to measuring the public awareness level
as regards the implications of involvement in examination malpractice and appealing to their moral
instinct to eschew this menace, using the proposed theory of awareness-creation and sanction-
strategy (SACS). The study employed purposive sampling technique in selecting 10 (ten) states where
various stakeholders in education were sampled for the administration of a questionnaire designed
to gauge their knowledge of implications of involvement in examination malpractice of different
forms. One thousand copies (1,000) of the instrument were administered in the States of Abia,
Katsina, Kebbi, Benue, Kwara, Cross-River, Bayelsa, Nasarawa Niger and Edo among the Senior
Secondary three Students, their teachers and parents of the same students. These states were
purposively selected for their high level of malpractice recorded in the examination conducted by
WAEC in recent times. Out of the administered copies of the instrument, nine hundred and forty-two
(942) were retrieved for analysis. The data generated was analyzed using descriptive statistics of
frequency counts and simple percentage. From our findings, it was discovered that all the states
displayed high level of awareness regarding the implications of involvement in malpractice during the
WAEC conducted examinations, but in varying degrees. The import of this is that the sanctions
applied to punish those involved in the menace are not deterring and effective enough. This,
therefore informed the conclusion of the study that though more awareness needs to be created
especially among the students who recorded the lowest level of awareness as discovered, radical and
more stringent measures need to be instituted for sanctioning various cases of malpractice. This will
help a great deal to reduce, if not to completely curb the menace of examination malpractice in our
public examinations.
Keywords: Public-examinations, Malpractice, Awareness-creation, Sanction-strategy, Stakeholders

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Introduction
This paper examined the impact of awareness creation and administration of various
sanctions on examination malpractice, using the West African Examinations Council as a case
study. The effects of the awareness level and the sanctions were also critically x-rayed with a
view to applauding the results if encouraging or suggesting an improved strategy for an
effective control and noticeable reduction in the rate of examination malpractice in public
examinations like the West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations (WASSCE)
conducted by WAEC.
Statement of the Problem
The rate at which candidates get involved in examination malpractice is increasing at
an alarming rate and this becomes worrisome as it erodes the standard of education in the
Country. Not only that, it also puts to questioning, the integrity of certificates issued by
various examining bodies like the West African Examination Council (WAEC). The fact that
the measures being taken by WAEC to curb the menace of malpractice in its examinations
seem to be ineffective served as an impetus to investigate the reasons why cases of
malpractice keep increasing and suggest possible lasting solutions to this growing
phenomenon.
Literature Review
According to Oxford Advanced Dictionary, malpractice is defined as careless, wrong
or illegal behavior while in a profession. In application to examination, Oyekan (1996) views
examination malpractice as a deliberate act of indiscipline adopted by students or their
privileged accomplices to secure facile success and advantage before, during and after the
administration of a test or examination. To this definition, Oluyeba and Daramola (1993) posit
that examination malpractice is any irregular behaviour exhibited by candidates or anybody
charged with the examination inside or outside the examination hall, before, during or after
such an examination. Going by these definitions, examination malpractice could be seen as
any activity which runs contrary to the approved rules and regulations governing the conduct,
administration or writing of public examinations. These activities, some of which will be
examined later, come at different stages of the examination and consequently mar its validity
as well as the reliability of its outcomes.
The very date and place examination malpractice started in the world is said by
researchers to be unknown. Besides, it could be said to be one of the fall-outs of the fall of
man in the Garden of Eden when Satan deceived Adam and Eve to sin against their Creator. It
could also be argued that Satan sowed this ugly seed which germinated into various forms of
sins and vices which include examination malpractice.
Consequent upon the above, examination malpractice is seen to have been in existence
for a long time. In other words, it is as old as man. Relating this to Nigeria, various sources
report examination malpractice to have been first observed in Nigeria as far back as 1914
when there was a leakage of senior Cambridge Local Examination. This trend continued until
after independence from when it turned out that there was hardly any year that examination
malpractice would not be recorded until 1970.

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As such, examination malpractice became prominent in the 1970s, upon the return of
the youths who were in the colleges and universities before they were conscripted into the
army during the Nigerian civil war in 1967. These youths came back at the end of the war in
1970 and went back to schools to continue with their education. Unfortunately, they were said
to have understood the language of the gun more than what the teacher was saying and thus
were not psychologically and mentally stable enough to read and prepare to pass
examinations. Therefore, they resorted to alternative means of passing the examinations by
engaging in various forms of examination malpractice such as cheating, bribing the examiner
or supervisor and hiring machineries to write for them. This was characteristically manifested
in the West African School Certificate Examination of 1970/1971. This examination was
marred by all manners of irregularities ranging from examination malpractice to leakage of
examination question papers. It must also be put on record here that the advent of technology
has become a catalyst to the spread of examination malpractice in its deployment as there are
now various malpractice offences which are technology driven. Thus, the menace of
examination malpractice establishes itself by moving with the change of time.
In the West African Examinations Council, a number of offences which constitute
malpractice in its examinations have been identified over a period of its corporate existence.
These offences were not only identified, commensurate sanctions were also devised to
discourage malpractice and to serve as deterrent to others. Some of the offences are as
follows:
1.
Bringing Foreign Material into Examination Hall
(1)
Where a candidate is found in the examination hall with notes, textbooks, prepared material or
any other printed material, the candidate's entire results in the examination shall be withheld,
pending cancellation of the result of the subject involved by the appropriate Committee of
Council.
(2)
Where a candidate is found in the examination hall with a blank piece of paper or any other
material not covered under 1(1) above, (except mobile phone or any other electronic
communication device), the entire results of the candidate shall be withheld, pending
cancellation of the results of the subject involved by the appropriate Committee of Council.
(3)
Where a candidate is found with a programmable calculator in the examination hall, the entire
results of the candidate shall be withheld pending cancellation of the result of the subject
involved.
(4)
Where a candidate is found with a mobile phone or any other electronic communication
device in the examination hall, the entire results of the candidate shall be withheld, pending
the cancellation of his/her entire results by the appropriate Committee of council.

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2.
Irregular Activities Inside or Outside the Examination Hall
(1)
Where a candidate is apprehended for offence(s) such as those listed below, inside or outside
the examination hall, the candidate's entire results in the examination shall be withheld
pending cancellation of his/her entire results by the appropriate Committee of Council.
(a)
Stealing, converting or misappropriating the scripts of other candidate(s);
(b)
Substituting worked scripts during or after the examination;
(c)
Seeking or receiving help from non-candidate(s) such as invigilator(s), supervisor(s),
teacher(s) or other personalities during the examination.
(2)
Where the person giving the help is not a candidate for the examination in session, but a
prospective candidate, he/she shall be barred from taking any examination conducted by the
Council for one year and will also be reported to the appropriate authority for disciplinary
action to be taken against him/her. In addition to the above action, the candidate's entire
results shall be withheld, pending cancellation by the appropriate Committee of Council.
(3)
Where a candidate is apprehended for offence(s) such as those listed below inside or outside
the examination hall, the candidate's entire results shall be withheld pending cancellation of
the result of the subject involved by the appropriate Committee of Council.
(a)
Tearing part of the question paper or answer booklet during the examination.
(b)
Refusing to submit script to the supervisor after the examination;
(c)
Starting to write an examination before commencement of work is officially announced OR
continuing to write after official orders have been given for candidates to stop work;
(d)
Other irregular activities within the immediate precincts of the examination hall
before, during or after the examination.
3.
Collusion
(1)
Where a candidate is caught during the examination passing notes for help from other
candidate(s), receiving or giving assistance, talking with or colluding in any manner with
another candidate(s), the entire results of the candidate(s) involved shall be withheld pending
the cancellation of his/her/their result(s') for the subject involved by the appropriate
Committee of Council.
(2)
Where cases of cheating are detected in script(s) and/or otherwise established in one paper,
the results of the subject for the candidate(s) involved shall be cancelled.
Where a candidate is proved to have cheated in more than one paper/subject, his/her results in
those subjects shall be cancelled.

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4.
Impersonation
Where a person is caught impersonating a candidate, he/she shall be handed over to the police
for prosecution. The entire results of the person being impersonated and those of the
impersonator, if he/she is also a candidate for any WAEC examination, shall be withheld,
pending cancellation by the appropriate Committee of Council.
Both the impersonator and the impersonated shall also be barred from taking any examination
conducted by the Council for a period of not less than two years.
"The Council also reserves the right to publish the names of persons so barred."
5.
Leakage
(1)
Where case of leakage is established at a centre, the entire results of the candidates offering
the subject(s) involved at the centre shall be withheld.
(2)
Candidates proved to have been involved in the leakage shall have their entire results
cancelled by the appropriate Committee of Council.
(3)
Where it is established that the school authorities condoned, connived at, and/or encouraged
the leakage, the entire results of the candidates at the centre shall be withheld pending
cancellation of the entire results by the appropriate Committee of Council. In addition, the
school shall be de-recognised in accordance with Rule 6 below.
6.
Mass Cheating
(1)
Where more than half of the candidates for a subject at a centre are involved in collusion or
other forms of examination malpractice, this shall be regarded as mass cheating.
(2)
Where mass cheating in a subject at a centre is established, the entire results of the candidates
at the centre shall be withheld pending cancellation of the results of the subject for those
confirmed to have cheated.
(3)
Where mass cheating has been established the following shall also apply:
(a)
In cases of schools, a report shall be made to the Ministry of Education or the appropriate
Board for disciplinary action to be taken against the person(s) responsible and the school shall
be de-recognised for a period not less than one year.
(b)
In the case of public centres, the Council shall take appropriate action.
(4)
A school shall be de-recognized for a stated period if
(a)
mass cheating is established in more than one paper/subject;
(b)
the appropriate Committee of Council is satisfied that the school cannot ensure the
satisfactory conduct of the Council's examination.
(5)
De-recognition implies that
Excerpt out of 19 pages

Details

Title
Public Awareness of Malpractice during the Examinations by WAEC in Nigeria
Authors
Year
2017
Pages
19
Catalog Number
V385699
ISBN (eBook)
9783668618015
ISBN (Book)
9783668618022
File size
1059 KB
Language
English
Keywords
public, awareness, malpractice, examinations, waec, nigeria
Quote paper
Dr. Busari Moshood (Author)Oyediran Y.R.A. (Author), 2017, Public Awareness of Malpractice during the Examinations by WAEC in Nigeria, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/385699

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