IMPLICATIONS OF EXAMINATION MALPRACTICE
The
implication of dishonest approaches to the acquisition of academic certificate
is over-whelming and obvious. First, large scale examination malpractice the
type of which we are witnessing today, make nonsense of educational of
qualification and discredit institution of learning and the nation as a whole.
This is bound to have advance effects on the credibility of certification
issued by our institutions of learning and examining bodies.
The end-result
is that the entire nation suffer when its destiny is placed in the hand of
half-baked elements with low mental abilities, men and women who have no
conscience. Commenting on the danger pose to the nation at large by the ugly
incidence of examination malpractice, Ekpu (1991) remarked that:- Some students
buy question papers with their bodies if they are females, dull, way-ward and
beautiful some others buy question papers with money if they are rich, dull,
lazy and ambitious. And those who sell them are either teachers or supervisors
are men and women who are greedy and unscrupulous.
Apart from the disloving
effect these malpractices can have on the psychometric properties of our tests,
we are more worried about their negative impact on our youths. Giving our
youths the impression that they cannot do well in an examination unless some to
killing their self confidness. It is bound to discourage the information of
good study habits among them.
Certainly
a country in a hungry to acquire technological skills and knowledge can only
afford the intellectual death of youths, nor can she afford to watch helpless,
the huge investment of the federal, state and local governement as well as
those of parents go down the drain because of the dastardly act of a few
indiscipline and soulless individuals.
PROBLEMS
OF ERADICATION EXAMINATION MALPRACTICE
The general
apaty and the continued moral decline within the society encourage such
reprehensible behaviour among candidates, school authorities and officials,
sadness with the responsibility of examination administration and this is the
primary reason why examination malpractice is on the increase. The press also
has not helped much, in that when malpractice occurs, the presses are more interested
in vilifying the examination body rather than the erring candidates as well as
suggesting possible solution.
Examination
council or joint Admission and malpractice Board have no disciplinary control
over the teachers or other non-staff who deliberately betray the frust reported
in them. The existence of
syndicates, who have involved sophisticated methods of perpetuation examination
malpractices, has militated against eventual elimination of the syndrome.
There is
difficulty of prosecuting offenders who commit examination malpractice under
the various decrees or enability acts. There is also lack of successful
prosecution of offenders by law enforcement authorities who in some cases are
not too been in bringing offenders to book once examination malpractice is
committed.