Exam malpractice: Implication for national development In Nigeria today, examination malpractice has assumed an alarming and embarrassing dimension both in public and internal examinations at all levels. It is the wish of every educational systems to inculcate into her recipients, the necessary skills to adopt meaningfully into their environment. To this end, educational systems use examination to test their reliability, and validity. Education helps us generate data to use for promotion, certification, selection and prediction, instructional and motivational aid. Such data may also be used for research purposes. For the result of an examination to be credible, valid and reliable, the Examination must have been taken according to the rules and regulations. It has to be acceptable by employers of labour, institutions and countries without suspicious. Therefore, any examination which is not in consonance with the above is said to be a bad examination. Whenever examiners or examinees engage in a conduct that is contrary to rules and regulations of a good examination, and which place some students in undue advantage over other students, examination malpractice is said to have taken place. What is examination malpractice Addison (1990) defines examination malpractice as "anything done by an examination candidate that is likely to render the assessment process useless" whereas Adeyegbe (1994) defines it as "improper conduct to one’s advantage during examinatio factors responsible for examination malpractice A lot of factors are responsible for the spread of examination malpractice in our society. 1. Rapid growth and demand for education in Nigeria. 2. Poor teaching and learning environment 3. Lack of well equipped teachers who do not have the necessary pedagogy to impart the contents to the learner. 4. No viable teaching materials/equipment like standard laboratories, libraries and other things. 5. Teaching under dilapidated building do not help students to internalize 6. Lack of qualified and dedicated teachers in core subjects. 7. Reading and writing based on curriculum. 8. Emphasis on paper qualification. 9. Government policies such as emphasis on quota system violates academic merite. Its practice encourages offering admission to person less qualified while dropping out more academically qualified individuals. 10. Lack of will power to discipline those involved in examination malpracti Forms of examination malpractice The following are forms of examination malpractice; 1. Leakage of question papers 2. Collusion between candidates bringing foreign materials into the examination halls. 3. Impersonation 4. Assault and intimidation 5. Collusion between candidates and officials. 6. Hi-Tech practice where students use different types of mini-computers, organizers calculators to code answers, textbooks, lecture notes, earphones, tapes mobile phones. Etc 7. Bribery giving money or gifts to supervisors and invigilators. 8. Sorting 9. Spying 10. Ghost voice malpractice 11. Blocking Implication of examination malpractice in national development In a society that examination malpractice is predominant, its impact are visibly seen in the type of human resources the education system has trained. Again educational system strives to inculcate high level of discipline, diligence, moral and love for others, to the recipients where the examination is fraught with malpractice, then all important feedback mechanism becomes defaulted and the educational system becomes distorted. Examination malpractice vitiates the credibility, validity and reliability of test, which are basic instruments of examination. When people who are not found worthy in learning and character are certificated fraudulently, such phenomenon ported serious implication for the society. Examination malpractice has re-ordered our value orientation. The moral tone and value system of people parading with cheap certificates are very low. They can go to any extent to get what they want, hence the saying "use what you have to get what you want". They believe in using money, undue influence, connections and favoritism to get what they want. They prevalent bank failures, collapse of buildings, economic sabotage, drug trafficking, fake drug manufacturing and sales are practical effects of moral decadence, emanating from examination malpractice, our value system has so degenerated that we find it difficult to call a spade a spade. Effects of examination malpractice and fraud are manifested, at our filling stations, churches, homes, hospitals, markets and so on. The moral level of our natural life do not allow some people to evaluate the consequences of their actions. Examination malpractice with its disadvantages is affecting all the facets of the society. The potentials of this nation will be difficult to be realized socially, economically and technologically until the individuals, governments and other stake holders in education join hands to eradicate it.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Jun 2013 13:10:10 +0000
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