Negative effects of examination malpractice to student and society
ABSTRACT:
Education, being a process of teaching and learning is evaluated through examination at the end of the learning period. Examination not only serves as a feedback for the trainer to ascertain the level of knowledge acquisition but also serve as a measure of knowledge retention by the trainee. Any misconduct or irregularity distorts this feedback mechanism and gives a false outcome of the learning process.
This project examines the forms, causes, solutions and negative effects of examination malpractice restricted to some selected secondary schools in Funakaye L.G.A which include:
(1) Government day secondary school Bajoga south.
(2) Mus’ab BN Umair comprehensive day secondary school Bajoga.
(3) Government day secondary school Bajoga.
Chapter one
1.1 introduction
one of the social its threatening the educated sector at all levels is examination malpractice. Examination is a tool used to measure learners achievement. It involves series of questions asked in order to determine whether or not learners have mastered what they are taught. One of the objectives of education in Nigeria is to prepare the young ones to face future challenges and develop them to meet the nations manpower requirements. School there fore need to conduct examination as a yardstick for assessment. It it the most practical way of assessment in education. Cornelius-ukpepi (2006) added that examination plays several roles in the teaching & learning process, a necessary incentive to study. The author further added that examination is a means of getting feedback and a yardstick for evaluating the effectiveness of instructional delivery, selection, and placement for employment.
Balogun (1999) defined examination as a way to ascertain how much a subject matter in a particular field of study the candidate has mastered. It is also seen as the process through which students are evaluated or tested to find out the quality, of knowledge they have acquired within a specific period. Also, Hornby (2005) defined examination as a formal test of somebody’s knowledge or a ability in a particular subject, especially by means of answering questions or practical exercise (P.58).
Although learner’s achievement in examination may not be the true reflection of their ability, it is however, the closest indicator of the extend of learner’s achievement in a given field. Examination according to Adewale (2011) in a given area or subject, can be used to categorize learners in to high and low ability. Those with high ability are usually given preference above those with low ability. Though, those with low ability would want the same preferential.
Treatment, and in a bid to demonstrate high ability, the resort to indulging in such vice as examination malpractice.
Denga and denga (1998) affirmed that examination malfractice is thriving in nursery and primary schools where one would have thought that children at this level are young and innocent.
In the past, there was a strong liak between the school and the home. Teachers know the pupils/students not only by the names but to their families. There was a strong cooperation between the school, society and the home. Moral standard was high. But the explosion of pupils carolment in school as a result of the universal primary education (UPE) increased the teacher-pupil ration in the class room making it difficult for teacher to closely monitor-pupils, as well as finding it difficult to cope with their functions as teachers and as parents, thereby bringing about deterioration in the teaching and learning process. Also, because emphasis has shifted from how skilful people are to what paper qualification they have many pupils/students have resorted to engaging in what is called examination malpractice.
In the same Vien, Fayombo (2004) Affirmed that the over dependence on certificate has led to the “Mad Rush” by the populace and the resultant effect is that people either acquire certificate legitimately or other means. According to the author, this messy situation is having a negative effect on the nations quality of education and the kind of certificates issued to students at different levels, has caused a situation where many people can no longer defend their certificates.
Although examination malpractice in the past may not be totally rule out, the current trend according to the western knowledge acquisition system or formal education is measured by certificate. Yet, certificate is not a full proof of knowledge retention. Before certificate is awarded, the student have to be assessed in the field they have been trained. Nnam and Inah (2015) notes that examination is a yardstick against which student’s competence and progress are formally measured and appaises in education sector.
The examination malpractice has been a social problem for decades, but the rate and manner at while it is perpetrated nowadays calls for serious concern. The rate of this crime has become so widespread that there is virtually no examination any where at all levels and outside the formal school system, that there is no one form of illegal practice or another. Examination malpractices are common every where and very examination session witnesses the emergence of new and indigenous ways of cheating. (Nnam and Inah, 2015).
Obudigha (2010) is alarming and cells for proper management in order to rid the school of its consequences. Whereas, in the past, students tended to hide the act, now they blatantly advertise the act and positively too.
1.2 statement of the problem:
examination seems to be a window or door that enhances acquisition of good qualification. Because of that, some student tend to do everthing that make them possible to pass their examinations without minding the consequences.
And some schools, teachers E.t.c are in habit of giving support to students (cheating) during examination, more especially final examination, because they take it as a way of earning income, and this brought wide problems and it will be discuss later in details.
1.3 purpose/objective of the study
1. to encourage good educational system
2. production of professionals who can defend their certificates.
3. Hard working students could be encourage
4. Holding of both certificate and knowledge (Skills)
5. Production of leaders who are honest and integrity.
6. Development of society and cut ire nation.
7. Lack of corruption. E.t.c
1.4 research questions:
1. what will be our future, if our youths got certificates without knowledge and skills.
2. Do our leaders do justice and honest to citizen.
3. How will our educational system be?
4. How do our society develop and the entire nation? E.t.c.
1.5 Research hypotheses:
1. Corruption as major factor effecting the educational sector
2. Some students had value the certificate than the knowledge or skills.
3. Some schools take consider it as a source of earning income and getting a lot of money.
4. Poor teaching and learning in the schools
5. Lack of proper supervision during the administration of examination.
6. Lack of integrity
1.6 significance of the study
considering the continuous occurrence of examination malpractice in our society, prompted me to select and write this topic i.e examination malpractice, and this is a fall in our educational system and our development, and its will affect our youths in the future.
1.7 definition of terms:
1. examination:-
the oxford advanced learners dictionary (2000) defined examination as spoken or practical test at school or college especially and important one that you need to do in order to get a qualification. The Wikipedia further asserted that a test or an examination is an assessment intended to measure a test takers knowledge or skill, aptitudes, physical fitness or classification in many other topics (e.g. beliefs). A test may be administered orally, on a paper, on a computer or in confirmed area that requires a test taker to physical perform a set of skills examination is an organized assessment technique which presents individuals with a series of question or tasks geared towards ascertaining the the individual acquired knowledge and skill (Oduwaiye, 2014)
2. Malpractice:
Malpractice: simply means, an illegal behaviour while in a professional job. (OXFORD DICTIONARY OF ENGLISH, DEVELOPED BY YOHANNES EJIGU ADEME)
3. Examination malpractice: is defined as any deliberate act of wrong doing, contrary to the rules of examinations designed to give a candidate an undue advantage. Examination malpractice also known as cheating is the illegal action that students take during their examinations to try to make good grades by cutting corners.
Examination malpractice is an act or irregular manner of testing candidates which contravenes the rules and conventions guiding the conduct of examinations. Malpractice has done a lot of harm to students since many of them have neglected their books with the hope of performing the magic they are used to in every examination. Examination malpractice in Nigerian educational system has been widely discussed and viewed as a major challenge not only to examination bodies but to school administrators, the entire education system, the government and the society at large. Examination malpractice as defined by West African Examination Council (WAEC). (2003) is any irregular behaviour or act exhibited by candidates or any body charged with the responsibility of conducting examination in or outside the examination hall, before, during or after such examination with the aim of taking undue advantage. Many of these irregularities or misconduct surround examination and it come to an alarming rate in the last three decades.
The hues and cries about examination malpractice taking place at all levels of the Nigerian educational system is nothing but a reflection of the decay in the values system of the society the Nigerian society is that which celebrates mediocrity and views cheating as being smart. The society does not want to know how an individual achieve success. The important thing is the success. The fact in Nigeria the end justifies the means instead of the means justifying the end. In actual fact examination malpractice is a variant of the wrongs and corruption in the society. The politicians employ rigging at elections and enjoy enviable political offices and so do students cheat from primary school to tertiary institutions to move from one level of education to another. All sorts of misconduct take place in and around examination venues to take undue advantage of the process and achieve “success”. To make matter worse, it is not only student that are involved, business centres inside or around schools, parent teachers, school heads, and examination officers all collude with students to perpetrate this misconduct. For example, it is common during Joints Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination, to see up to 5000 persons in examination centre that has 500 candidates. The other persons who are not the examination come around to crowd the venue as aids to those writing examination. The collusion between two or more of these agents makes it more difficult to combat. Even the penalties stipulated in act 33 of 1999 constitution ranginging from cancellation of results to 21 years Jail-term has failed to achieve many significant shift from the cheating culture due to the effect of collusion (Ijaiya, 2004; Oduwaiye, 2014).
The university system evaluates the achievement of student’s learning by administering two major types of examinations. Each course is evaluated by Continuous Assessment Test (C.A. Test) and semester examination. These two types of examination are not spared of malpractices or irregularities of one type or the other. (Onyechere, 2004; Olanipekun, 2013 and Adewale 2014).
CHAPTER TWO
2.1 introduction:
There are several types, classes or forms, of examination malpractice. In every examination, students develop new methods of perpetrating examination malpractices. The instances of examination malpractices Vary. They range from impersonation, Leakage of questions, tampering with results, and computer fraud to fraudulent practices by invigilators. Some forms of malpractices are discussed below.
2.2 forms of examination malpractices
1. Collusion among candidates themselves and between them and examination officials: collusion occurs when candidates writing the same examination copies from one another. When examination official leaks the examination materials to the intended examinees, parents or over Zealous school managers prior to the examination time, the malpractice committed also falls under collusion. Collusion leads to mass cheating in examination.
2. Impersonation: this is a case where another candidate or hired mercenary sits for examination on behalf of the genuine candidate. Male candidates sitting in for girls or vice versa, and twins writing examinations for each other.
3. GIRAFFING: this form of cheating takes its name from one of the African wild animals with an extremely long neck, legs and small head, (Akaranga & Ongong, 2013). It is a process in which an examine stretches out his neck as long as possible to view and copy what a fellow candidate has written down for a given question. Giraffing is among the oldest and the commonest form of examination malpractice.
4. Inscription: students have now advanced to the level of inscribing material or information on anything like parts of their body for example palms, thighs, baby pampers: handkerchiefs, rulers, purses, chairs, tables, walls of examination halls and so on, (ovedein, 2006). Nursing mothers convert the tender skin of their baby to white board: intermittently during examination seek for permission to breastfeed their baby only to use such avenues for note reading or revision. A new examiner will be dumb founded during NTI distance learning and universities part-time programmes examinations.
5. IRREGULAR ACTIVITIES INSIDE AND OUTSITE THE EXAMINATION HALLS: students, who have made up their minds, to cheat, exhibit unwholesome behaviours during examination. For instance, smuggling out question papers out of examination halls, sending and receiving information from other candidates or from agents and touts outside the hall, tearing part of the question paper or answer booklet during the examination to perpetrate malpractice.
6. Scientific malpractice: the use of mobile phones during examination: Nowadays, candidates employ unauthorized scientific calculators, organizers, compact disc, and mobile phones to take undue advantage. Mobile phones with camera (Imaging function) are used to take snapshots of a whole textbook in a much reduced format for use during examination. For extermination that involves multiple choice questions, candidates inside the examination hall receive the answer through the handsets from their agents even outside that geographical location.
7. Bribery: this form of malpractice may be used to enhance teacher-student collusion to cheat. It brings in the economic perspectives in examination malpractices. A student may pay an examination some money not necessarily to but the question paper, but to allowed to used illegal materials smuggled into the examination halls or to extend the examination scheduled period. In Nigeria, bribery often referred to as sorting in tertiary institutions is rampant. Male student offer money or other valuables while female students use money or sex to bargain for “upgrading” of their examination scores. Bribery is common in both secondary and tertiary levels of education examination.
8. Intimidation/assault on examination officials: there are reported cases where students and touts brandish dangerous weapons like daggers, pistols axe E.t.c in the examination venues to intimidate invigilators to have a free day while committing the heinous crime. Students who indulge in secret cult activities are more prone to this Violent act. The case of intimidation is more evident during external WASSCE/NECO examinations popularly referred to as GCE or during final semester of undergraduate examinations.
9. Other forms of examination malpractice include the use of coded sign languages by some candidates, exchanging of answer booklets for note comparison or outright impersonation, mass cheating, Leakage of question papers, E.t.c
From the forms of examination malpractices aforementioned, it is clear that examination malpractice is not limited to the time and place of examination. In fact, it occurs either before, during or ofter examination. A typical pre-examination malpractice in Nigeria is in the process of registering SSCE candidates for examinations. Ojerinde (2004) cited in Anzene (2014) reported that one of the commonest forms of pre-examination malpractice is the registration of non-school examination by principals in spite of clear regulations against such practice. This explains why secondary schools located in rural areas with no access road or difficult terrains that hinder external monitoring or supervision witness influx of candidates during SSCE examinations. Sometime, some schools use places of writing their examination with no access or not easy to the external supervision to witness influx of candidates during SSCE examination without the nowing of school his arrival. Such “mirale centres” are established for economic gains and not to impart knowledge to students. The introduction of Global system for mobile communication (GSM) in the country has revolutionized examination malpractices in all tiers of our school system. A lot of academic information is now stored in these electronic gadgets for direct use in examination halls or for onward transfer via short message services (SMS) to other students in any other parts of the country. Post examination malpractices include such unwholesome activities occurring after the examination, for instance, candidates tracing their answer booklets to the marking centres. During SSCE examination (WASSCE, NECO, & NABTEB). Some candidate use pencil to write their telephone numbers. Urging the marker (Examer) to contact them for price negotiation. Some female candidates also attach their semi-nude photographs in the answer booklets praying for a sexual promiscuous male ro mark their answer booklets. Such photographs bear telephone number for contact. In the tertiary institutions, sorting and sexual gratification is a major form of post examination malpractice. Continuous assessment scores and even examination scores are altered by the unscrupulous lecturers to five undue advantages to their cohorts. Intervention by highly placed school officials for their words or relative to be passed or given a specific grade at all cost is also a rampant case of post examinations malpractice.
Date: 2026-08-12 00:00:00.000000