Prof. Ibrahim Wushishi, Registrar/ Chief Executive of the National Examinations Council (NECO), has bemoaned the negative effects of examination fraud on society.
Examination fraud, according to the head of NECO, tends to dissuade serious students from working hard, decrease educational standards, devalue diplomas, and produce quacks.
At a one-day workshop on test malpractice in Nigeria that the council and National Assembly jointly organized in Abuja, he gave a speech.
Wushishi said: “Examination malpractices have the tendency to discourage hard work among serious students, lowers educational standards, discredit certificates, and lead to the production of quacks, thereby affecting the manpower needs of the nation.
“We must therefore take collective responsibility to rid them of this bad habit of wanting to cut corners.”
On her part, vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic and Secondary Education, Senator Akon Eyakenyi, lamented that examination malpractice is ruining the educational system of credibility.
“Examination malpractice is one practice that can completely ruin our education system of credibility. We therefore have a task to ensure that we rescue the soul of our educational system from the stretch hold of examination malpractice.
“It is the responsibility of every stakeholder in the education sub sector of our national economy to rise to the challenge of arresting the monster called examination malpractice before it causes more damage to our educational system.
“Managers of the education sub – sector should ensure the culprits should be punished and those who did well should also be appreciated to encourage them. Law enforcement and anti-craft agencies should continue to lay their helping hands and step up support for the fight against examination malpractice,” she said.
Also speaking, the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Basic and Secondary Education, Professor Julius Ihonvbere, said some parents and schools are into the business of aiding and abetting exam malpractices, adding that such behaviour portends danger for the future of the country.
“In fact, the school authorities connive with others to carry out these acts. As we speak, in my constituency, schools are correcting between 50-60 thousand for those who want to register for WAEC or NECO. For WAEC, the exam fee is N18,000 but they are collecting from N45, 000 to N60, 000.
“We need to design how we can bring these institutions down and sanctions must be very severe,” he said.
On his part, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Lucky Irabor, expressed the readiness of Nigeria’s armed forces to fully join in the fight against examination malpractice.
“The armed forces are fully with NECO in this fight. We must work the talk as exam malpractice can destroy many things in the country,” Irabor, represented by Chief of Defence Administration, Rear Admiral Muhammad Nagenu, said.