National Examinations Council, NECO, has threatened to delist any school found guilty of examination malpractices for two years.
Professor Ibrahim Wushishi, NECO registrar, who was speaking recently in Lagos, at a one-day National Sensitisation Workshop, entitled: “Roles of education stakeholders in tackling examination malpractice”, advised school owners, students, parents and other stakeholders to desist from examination malpractice. He said the vice has a lot of negativities on the country’s education system.
The workshop was organised by NECO in partnership with the National Assembly.
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Wushishi said, ‘‘The simple advice is that they should desist from it. As an examination body, we will not fail to sanction the schools. At the end, we will delist the schools that we find wanting of examination malpractices for two years from taking our examinations.”
He maintained that Nigeria would make progress if examination malpractice is reduced to the barest minimum.
In Wushishi’s words, ‘‘If we want this country to flourish, then examination malpractices must be reduced to the barest minimum. We must have zero tolerance for examination malpractice because it affects the systems. This is the purpose of this sensitisation.’’
He also lamented that the existing laws on examination malpractices are not usually being implemented.
Mr Andrew Adejo, Permanent Secretary, the Federal Ministry of Education also maintained that culprits of examination malpractice should be made to face the wrath of the law to serve as a deterrent.
Adejo said, “No one should be spared, both the low and the mighty should go to jail if found guilty.”
School administrators must ensure adequate coverage of the syllabus for all subjects before the commencement of external examinations.
In his words, ‘‘Parents should up-scale their moral and value system and encourage their children to study hard for examinations.’’ In his own reaction, Professor Julius Ihonrbere, Chair, House Committee on Basic Education said, ‘‘We should prosecute them maximally. N400,000, N500,000 fine that’s a chicken fee. Minimum of N4 to N5 million if you’re caught cheating, then you go to prison. More than 50,000 engage in exam malpractices every year in all the exams they take. How many have been arrested? So it’s not enough to cancel the results. Prosecute them; punish them, then the parents will warn their children at home to do the right thing.’’
