Exam Malpractice: Jail term is not the solution

While commenting on the scourge of examination malpractice in the country, a former Lagos State police commissioner Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, observed that the rate of the menace among Nigerian children and youths is a reflection of the character of Nigerian leaders who rig elections and loot treasuries. Although Alhaji Tsav said he is not against […]

While commenting on the scourge of examination malpractice in the country, a former Lagos State police commissioner Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, observed that the rate of the menace among Nigerian children and youths is a reflection of the character of Nigerian leaders who rig elections and loot treasuries. Although Alhaji Tsav said he is not against the prescription of punishment for examination cheats, the former police commissioner added that there is need to look at the causes of such crimes.
In addition to the bad examples of our leaders which Alhaji Tsav identified as one of the factors responsible for the prevalence of malpractice and misconduct during examinations, there are several other factors that account for the monster. The learning environment, largely liberalized by the emergence of communication technology particularly the internet and hand-held gadgets, has made many students indolent at learning; seeking easy routes to success that does not come in the end.
Such unserious students devise different means to cheat during examinations. The trend has graduated from the old techniqpues of “giraffing” (also called ‘copy and paste’) which involves a candidate looking at another’s work to steal from the latter’s answers to a more organized system where parents buy live question papers from examination bodies or corrupt bank officials entrusted with the safe-keeping of sensitive examination materials. Going in to examination halls with small sheets of papers containing prepared answers is now considered out-dated among perpetrators of the crime. Multiple registrations by a candidate with a deliberate intent to cheat, is another form of examination malpractice.
Some female students have also been reported to have enclosed their photographs in their examination scripts with a self-addressed envelope indicating willingness to accept invitation from the examiner, who is at liberty to honour or reject the “bribe” offered him/her. Examination malpractice is increasingly becoming sophisticated. Syndicates have equally succeeded in the past to organize special examination venues otherwise called “miracle centers” where a candidate could pass in such examinations without necessarily entering the examination hall. Some school administrators and examination officers also abeit this ugly trend by collecting huge levies from students with a view to allowing them to cheat in the examination hall.
The fact that over sixty-eight thousand results were withheld by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) when the 2013 matriculation examinations results were released in May this year does not only show the level of desperation among young learners but also depicts the monumental proportion of just one  among many crises bedeviling the country’s education sector.
Examination malpractice is a threat to the quality of education in the country. It is a peril that reflects the corrupt nature of our society. The fight against this nuisance, if it must succeed, goes beyond jail term. It is not the length of prison term that matters in the attempt to tame the menace but the resolve by those who have the statuutory mandate of maintaining and preserving law and order to jail the offenders that were found guilty. Like corruption, it is the failure of law enforcement agencies to prosecute suspects and have them convicted that is primarily encouraging the perpetration of the crime. As long as perpetrators are never prosecuted and jailed if found guilty, the crime will persist even when the jail term for offenders were life imprisonment. Examination malprtactice will only reduce when examples are made out of offenders including candidates, school administrators, examination officers and officials, invigilators, supervisors, security operatives involved in the conduct of examination, bank officials, examiners and parents. This is a better solution than the 5-year jail term recently prescribed by government.
Parents, on the other hand, must stop financing the purchase of live question papers for their children and wards. Examination bodies or authorities must desist from concessional posting of examination invigilators and supervisors in order to forestall any syndicated arrangements that seek to allow malpractice during examinations. Government should desist from rewarding corrupt practices such as state pardon for convicted criminals. This has negative implications for our young school children. It gives the imperation that you can as well cheat in examinations and get away with it.
May Allah (SWT) guide learners at all levels to shun all forms of examination malpractice as we also pray that He (SWT) directs our leaders (in what they do and say) to the path of righteousness and not the path of those who indulge in corrupt dealings including exam malpractice, amin.