ERASING EXAMINATION MALPRACTICE

Examination malpractice has gradually developed to become a hydra-headed monster that has caused a very big threat to education in most West African countries like Nigeria.

Examination malpractice is a maladjusted academic misdemeanor done by a candidate before, during or after an examination to achieve success by all means. Hence the goal of examination is violated. It is a devouring canker worm that portends great danger for the nation

Causes of Examination Malpractice

Laziness of students: seriousness has been thrown to the winds by many students. The most of them have little or no time for their studies. They spend more time partying, browsing the internet like facebook, 2go, twitter, chatting e.t.c.

Desperation by students: many students think passing an examination is a do or die affair. In the bid to excel, some want promises from parents fulfilled, some others aspire to be on the TV, newspapers as the best. In so doing they engage themselves in different forms of examination malpractices.

Lack of Conducive Learning Atmosphere: A visit to some schools revealed that some schools do not have the necessary infrastructure and school equipment like reading desks and chairs. In some schools, students learn under the tree instead of in a classroom. As a result of this horrible situation, the students are unable to settle down and concentrate in their studies. When examination comes, they can only pass by cheating.

Inadequate Preparation for Examination

In some schools, there are a few teachers and specialized ones that teach the subjects. They inadequately prepare the students on how to pass during examinations; they can only pass by cheating.

Lack of Reading Skills

Some students do not know how to read well in order to understand, they lack the skills of effective reading and writing. As a result, no matter how much they read, they do not absorb much. So during examination they can only pass by cheating.

Teachers' Inability to Cover Their Syllabus

When a teacher does not cover his/her scheme in the syllabus, they leave the students with half information and sometimes ignorance. At examination unknown questions are tackled by cheating, in so doing they help encouraging examination malpractice.

Corrupt Invigilators and Greedy Supervisors

When there is a greedy supervisor or avaricious invigilators, they give students false hopes of passing examinations by collecting money from them and helping them to cheat in examinations.

The Evils of Examination Malpractice Cannot Be Over-Emphasized

Creativity, skills and resourcefulness are hampered. It breeds havoc; socio-religious, economic and political disorder. It obliterates standards in the society. Employees are engaged in jobs they are not suited for since the certificates they claim to possess are not on merit.

Solutions to Examination Malpractice

Teachers should be trained properly in their fields. By this they will have the tactics to impact knowledge to the students.

Teachers should be marked hard on covering the syllabus. This will help the students cover the necessary grounds before examination.

Holidays maybe more in number but reduced in length and parents are encouraged to send their children for extra moral classes.

There is indisputable need for guardians and councilors in the school to counsel students on how to develop self-confidence in reading as to pass their examinations without cheating and choose suitable life careers.

Parents should stop giving their children money for special centers; rather they should encourage them to buy and read their books.

However, The Situation Can Be Reversed If The Government Can Take The Following Measures:

It should allocate sufficient funds to education. If the teaching and learning environment is to be conducive for effective learning and when the students are confident, they will have no cause to look for short cuts to succeed.

The government should provide more jobs for unemployed graduates. If there were not so many unemployed graduates, the criminally minded candidates would not find ready-made machineries to impersonate or provide model answers for them.

Government should enact stringent laws that will have deterrent effects on the would-be offenders and their collaborators: parents, supervisors, and examination organizing officials, e.t.c. implicated, through acts of commission or omission in examination irregularities.

Government should de-emphasize the undue importance attached to the possession of paper qualification. It should be possible to re-orientate our educational system towards the needs of business, science and technology. With such a policy every student will be compelled to acquire some skills and the mad rush for paper qualifications will stop. That will also put an end the urge to commit examination irregularities.