EXAMINATIONS AND MALPRACTICE: WHITHER NIGERIA?

It is no longer news that we are in a season of examinations, namely Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination(UTME) of the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WASSCE), and NECO. Of course these examinations are prerequisite for gaining admission into the public universities in Nigeria. Hence, the values attached to them and even the subsequent tests (aptitude test).

I am one of those who believe in the Nigerian project at the present which will occasion the future success story we shall tell of our great country. I also believe that time shall come when a great Nation shall be built out of the present challenges and predicaments. Surely, the time is closing in. But I will not fail to point out that presently, there needs to be an urgent overhaul of our dear country's educational system. The preceding lines are very important because some critics would always like to term those who are critical of situations and those who question the status quo as either being pessimistic or unpatriotic. This piece is anything but fanning the embers of pessimism or cynicism. It’s rather a patriotic act aimed towards the betterment of our society, our country and the world at large.


The educational system in Nigeria, as we know today, is one we cannot be very proud of, especially when it comes to stemming the tide of examination malpractice and grounding the admission process into the universities on 'pure' merit. The basis for this is drawn from the present practice of some students who engage the services of artificial helpers, code-named 'magic angels' in order to pass their examinations. Over the years, JAMBITES and indeed candidates for other examinations, maybe, having lost their self-confidence, and or having not studied well, resorted and still resort to the easiest way of making it - expo. They spent and still spend large sums on the 'runs' and just like every other fraudulent adventure, it is always two sided: some succeed, other do not. It becomes even more painful and jaw-breaking when parents are at the forefront of the drive and fight for the sustenance of examination malpractice. Such parents would take their children to what I would like to call ‘citadels of examination malpractice’ often called ‘miracle centers’. Thus it is not new when we hear things like ‘special JAMB’, ‘outside WAEC’ and ‘special centers’. 

Some years ago, I had a discussion with a friend who claimed he knew someone who scored above 250 in UTME with the help of runs and then, was studying pharmacy in one of the Federal universities. I tried reasoning with him even as I told him of the consequences of such fraud, of which included the possible loss of many  lives should such person goes through to becoming a pushover pharmacist. But my friend told me something I could not easily forget! He said, "Agozie, it doesn't really matter how he got admitted, but what's important is that he is a student of pharmacy now". I was disappointed with him initially, but at a deeper thought, I blamed him less. For a student who majored in sciences in his secondary school, but had his practìcals in a ‘virtual laboratory’ with his textbooks and notes as the only real laboratory is not to be blamed wholly for resorting to 'runs' in order to pass an examination which he is to write with other students who actually did the practicals! This is not to say that I am supporting such student, rather, I am making a case for an urgent need to reposition education in Nigeria!

I believe that sharing the experience I had when I wrote UTME will explicitly expose the rot in our educational system. I registered for UTME when the Computer-Based Test (CBT) was first introduced. I opted to write the normal paper and pencil test because I did not want to be caught up in problem, say, power failure or poor network.

I left home and arrived early at the centre I was posted to, the location of which I will not write here for personal reasons. It was not long after my arrival that my surprises started. The examination was yet to start, but students were already copying answers to questions they were yet to see! Of course there were  on ground security men, comprised of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), who on searched every candidates before  they passed through the gate. Trust me, phones and other foreign materials were confiscated. The second stage was the biometric verification which was put in place to avoid impersonation. But my greatest surprises came during  the examination proper. 

Inside the examination hall, the officials announced that each and every one of us was to pay a sum of one thousand Naira (#1000). This, they said would make them give us “breathing space” to write the exam. The phones of the students who paid were respectively returned, thus, they were free to, by any means, find answers to the questions contained in the papers. Those who refused to pay were allowed to write on the condition that they would not at any time seek answers from any other means apart from their intellect. The defaulters’ scripts were confiscated, while the scripts are redeemable only when such a persons involved pay the sum so paid by others. The shocker came when a JAMB official, a woman, announced that she had with her, answers to the questions but was quick to point out that it would be given to those who might want it at a price, quite different from the thousand naira paid before –imagine!

The sitting arrangement was such that three persons sat per seat. And an hour into the examination, the two persons who were to sit with me were nowhere to be found. Some  candidates had pity on me since ‘I had no one to copy from nor ask questions’. Interestingly, towards the end of the examination, the occupants of the seats came and 'miraculously' finished, even before I did. How? It was very simple: they had the answers already, thus shaded WITHOUT READING THE QUESTIONS!!! Enquiries revealed that the duo answered PHYSICS, CHEMISTRY, BIOLOGY AND ENGLISH. Í would not be surprised if I got to know that they successfully secured admission into the higher institution of learning, since it had become the practice for 'money to change hands' or 'power to change hands' in the choice of candidates for admission into our High Institutions.

The dire consequences of this ugly trend is here with us: the graduation of some 'half baked' individuals, the intellectual drains of our society. The health, environmental and other sectors risk engaging the services of these 'graduates'. Our health system cannot be trusted entirely as there are situations where one who is suffering from malaria is diagnosed with typhoid or other illnesses, and I strongly believe that some of these things are direct result of examination malpractice. It is common knowledge that some graduates cannot even defend their certificates.

The onus is now on all stakeholders in educational sector and indeed all Nigerians to work tirelessly towards repositioning the educational system,  especially at the elementary and secondary levels. This should be so because, a building without a solid foundation cannot stand. There is no justification for a parent to register his or her child in 'special centres' as it is a direct indictment on both the students and their respective  parent(s). The government agencies charged with the conduct of examinations in Nigeria should be proactive in finding and achieving ways of stamping out examination malpractice in Nigeria with the principle of merit entrenched in admitting and grading students. Above all, it is the collective responsibility of all Nigerians to speak out and practically fight against examination malpractice and the attendant evils. By so doing, we create a Nigeria of our dreams; one where excellence and not mediocrity, good and not evil thrives. Arise O compatriots, Nigeria’s call obey.

I wish all those taking external examinations this year, a resounding success!

Reach me on twitter at @ifedichiagozie. Blog on www.callistusifedi.blogspot.com

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