The Source Magazine Online

...News from the depth, rooted in time

		Search Fo r
		Search Fo r

HOME

ARCHIVES

SUBSCRIPTION

ADVERT RATES

ABOUT US

APRIL 2, 2007 VOL. 20. NO 25

Restoring Lost Glory

**Obiageli Ezekwesili**

Individuals and schools involved in aiding and abetting examination malpractice are in for a hard time, as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) go after them
By George Umunnakwe
It seems the resolve to publish the names of individuals and school, who partake in examination malpractices is paying off as principals in Lagos, under the umbrella of the Association of National Conference of Principals of Secondary Schools, also known as ANCOPSS, on Wednesday, March 21, 2007 began moves to prosecute those whose names were made public by the Federal Ministry of Education.
The Obiageli Ezekwesili led ministry had on February 26, 2007, published a list of schools and examination centres which have been found culpable by the ministry’s Task Force Team on Exam Ethics and Campus Safety.
The team more than 350 schools across the country as den for examination cheats. Accordingly, a committee known as Joint Action committee on Examination Ethics and Campus Safety, was constituted to verify and harmonise the list submitted by different examination supervisors.
Instructively, with this put in place, by the time Minister for Education will be leaving office, she will be leaving behind the toga of a minister whose reforms have helped to shapen the sector. Though this was achieved barely one year on the saddle, it however, did not come without a snag.
When she was appointed, Ezekwesili did not waste time in frowning at the nature of examination malpractices in the country which was at an all time high. Infact, it stuck out like a sore thumb which has defied all medications. Virtually all examination bodies which include the Joint Admission, Matriculation Board (JAMB), National Examinations Council (NECO), National Teachers Institute (NTI), National Business and Technical Examinations Board, (NBTEB) and the ministry itself, all have their officials whose hands had been soiled removed as examiners, supervisors and invigilators of public examinations. All these are contained in the book titled: “Examination Malpractice Blacklist 2”, published by the ministry of education in conjuction with the education reform team.
Earlier in February 26, 2007, 324 schools across the country which used to be centres of the federal ministry of education relating to public examinations, were withdrawn. The blacklisted schools were involved in one form of malpractice or another.
Speaking at the presentation held at the Bolingo Hotel, Abuja, Ezekwesili noted that the list is not exhaustive, but the process is on-going and the long arm of justice will eventually catch up with all perpetrators.
Ezekwesili: “The list covers a wide category of officers including employees of the Federal Ministry of Education, state ministries of Education, Private Schools and of course, Examination Boards.
“These individuals can no longer serve as personnel of the Federal Ministry of Education in associated examinations. This suspension as examination personnel is a Federal Ministry of Education administrative action. It is without prejudice to other disciplinary actions.”
Interestingly, The Source gathered that the names of perpetrators of examination malpractice have already been forwarded to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC). The minister of Education, explaining the reasons behind the invitation of the commission, said Examination malpractice is a criminal offence under the miscellaneous offences act which falls under the enforcement mandate of the EFCC.
Also speaking at the presentation, Ike Onyechere, the FME Task team leader on Exam Ethics and campus safety said, “the list is not about anybody, but about the system, inorder to cleanse the system.”
Speaking at the occasion also, Nzemeka Olisah, President, ANCOPSS, said the body is in full support of the mandate of the committee and it is so far very impressed with the discharge of that mandate. They further stated that ANCOPSS has its internal rectitude machinery which abhors examination malpractice in all its ramifications. “I am glad to let you know that your ministry’s initiative will go a long way in helping us strengthen that machinery and enforce the code,” Olisah noted.
In the presentation which was well attended by all stakeholders in the sector, Adaji Yinusa, National Assistant Secretary of National Parents-Teacher Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN), said though they have been waging war on examination malpractice over the years, this has not yielded much results, as their advice on the dangers of examination malpractice were ignored.
Meanwhile, in the list made available to The Source, a total of 232 staff of education ministries, examiners, supervisors and invigilators have been sanctioned according to the latest publication. The breakdown shows that while the federal ministry of Education has its 46 staff sanctioned, the North central part of the country had 28 individuals stopped from taking part in examination processes. North East had three; North West, one. South east with about 306 percent, had 91 individuals stopped from supervising examinations in the region. This however turned out to be the highest, followed by South-south with 37 individuals, while South west had by 36 individuals.