Taming a Monster

Aja-Nwachukwu

Once again, the decadence in the nation’s education sector is brought to the fore with the release of the 2007 Annual Examination Ethics Report
By Popoola Kunle
To many education stakeholders and watchers, the recently published Annual Examination Ethics and Examination Malpractice rating of states and geo-political zones in Nigeria is, perhaps, one of the inestimable goodies that has happened to the development of education in the country. Within 11 years of it existence, the non-profit organistion called Examination Ethics Project (EEP), has propelled a significant determination by the appropriate authorities to channel all necessary resources to change the decadence that has moulded the nation’s educational sector into a failure of sorts.
For many, the sector’s failure has become an added burden to the problems posed by advance fee fraud, drug trafficking, failed policies, failed health care system, electoral fraud and all the negatives of a criminalised society.
Such analysts believe, compared with the educational standard in countries such as Ghana, it would be appreciated why much needs to be done in order to minimise the negative effects posed by examination malpractice.
Indeed, the menace has become a monster that has metamorphosed into organised crime controlled by syndicates with links in education ministries, examination boards and other educational institutions. It has also been revealed that supervisors, invigilators and examiners are now part of the syndicate rings extorting money from students during examination periods.
Of the 36 states of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, as well as the six geo-political zones, none is free from the menace of the monster called examination malpractice.
However, in line with the country's many policies geared towards eradicating examination –related offences, the government in 2006 launched targeted initiatives aimed at combating the scourge of examination malpractice and campus cultism. The former Minister of Education, Obiageli Ezekwesili and the Minister of State for Education, Dr. Abba Ruma, implemented a number of examination ethics and campus safety initiatives under the Education sector reform programme.
The efforts include the re-constitution and re-empowerment of the Joint Action Committee on Examination Ethics (JACEE), which later executed a memorandum of understanding with All Nigeria Conference of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS), Conference of Primary School Head Teachers of Nigeria (COPSH), National Parents Teachers Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN), National Association of Nigerian Student (NANS), National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC). The committee was inaugurated by the then Special Assistant to former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Information and Re-orientation, Erelu Bose Ogunmuyiwa.
The 2007 Annual Exam Ethics Report, which is based on 2006 statistics of examination malpractice released by public examination bodies, revealed that there was an increase in exam malpractice between 2005 and 2006. The report also indicates an increase in the value of revenue extorted by syndicates in form of examination fraud to N25 billion in the same year, while the total amount lost by parents to result cancellation on account of examination malpractice in 2006 stood at N21 billion.
This shored up the amount lost to examination malpractice- related cancellations in the last five years to N107 billion. Also, the total number of post-primary exit examination results cancelled by public examination bodies including West African Examinations Council (WAEC), National Examination Council (NECO), Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the National Business and Technical Education Board (NABTEB) in 2006 stood at 410,000. Lecturers in public tertiary institutions are said to have extorted about N50 billion from students through the sale of handouts in 2006. Such handouts, purchased from lecturers, is the major conditionality for passing examination in some institutions of higher learning.
Instructively, the Nigerian government had read the riot act to key stakeholders in the nation’s education sector to end all forms of educational malpractice as soon as possible. This is a bold resolve to check the increasing trend and its often accompanying hazards. The move was made in order to boost the culture of reading in the country, hence the directive was a follow-up to the number of blacklisted schools and rating of states by the Examination Ethics Project.
In 2006, the National Examination Malpractice Index (EMI) indicated an increase of 7.2 from 6.9 in 2005, which therefore meant that examination malpractice increased by a factor of 4.3 per cent between 2005 and 2006. For the second year running, the South east zone retained the first postion in examination malpractice, with an index of 11.45.
Eleven States (Borno, Abia, Enugu, Imo, Bayelsa, Lagos, Ebonyi, Cross River, Edo, Rivers and Benue) are included in the states with malpractice indices higher than the national average. Borno State, the Home of Peace, took the first position in examination malpractice with EMI of 17.26, followed by Abia State, which came second with EMI of 15.11, while Enugu State came third with EMI of 14.10.
Analysis show that the following states came first in examination malpracticce in their respective zones: Benue led the North-central zone with EMI of 8.22 followed by Borno from North east with EMI of 17.26; leading the pack from the North-west is Kaduna with 5.21 EMI. Abia came first in the South east with EMI of 15.11, Bayelsa topped the South south with EMI of 12.10, while Lagos from the South-west topped the zone with 11.95 EMI index.
Remarkably, the resultant improvement in the sector is visible in terms of blacklisted schools, supervisors, invigilators and the de-certfication of examination centres by the Federal Ministry of Education– measures which contribute in no small measure to achieveing this feat.
Notably, Ezekwesili had explained that in line with the developments in the sector, government would no longer tolerate examination- related offences. She promised that the education ministry would soon follow-up the action by releasing the list of blacklisted examination supervisors and invigilators who would cease to participate in the supervision and invigilation of Federal Ministry of Education -associated examinations.
These measures, according to The Source’s findings, have compelled schools, invigilators and examination bodies, in collaboration with various law enforcement agencies, to work towards eradicating exam malpractice and cultism from the schools.
Some of the initiatives by the government, The Source learnt, include the ‘Name and Shame Initiative’ (or the Blacklist Initiative), which since it was launched has blacklisted 346 schools that involved in examination malpractice, while 262 individuals (Principals, Teachers, Supervisors, Invigilators and Examiners) were also blacklisted for their involvement in this offence. The flipside of the ‘Name and Shame Initiative’ is the Recognition and Rewards Initiative (The Honours List Initiative), which aim is to identify, recognise and reward individuals and institutions that have made outstanding contributions to the promotion of examination ethics.
Others include the publication and distribution of integrity manual for supervisors, invigilators and examiners as part of the examination ethics and campus safety initiative. The manual, based on previous code of ethics published by Exam Ethics Club of Nigeria with contributions from JACEE members, outlined the dos and don’ts for supervisors, invigilators and examiners.
However, with the upsurge in examination malpractice- related offences, stakeholders have recommended that the federal anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies, including the police, the Economic and financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Currupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), and the Federal Ministry of Justice should initiate serious action against those named in Federal Ministry of Education blacklists. The blacklists, it is believed, will provide good evidence for investigation and action.