The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Education, Mrs Adebunmi Adekanye, has advised the pupils against using examination malpractice as shortcuts, describing it as a long route to success.
Speaking at an examination malpractice awareness workshop for public secondary school pupils held at the Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) Hall Tuesday last week, Mrs Adekanye said: “You do not achieve success through shortcuts. In fact short cuts are the longest routes to success. So work hard and pray hard.”
In her speech, the Director, Policy, Planning Research and Statistics, Mrs Azeezat Grillo, said combating examination malpractice required collaboration of all stakeholders in the education sector.
“While Lagos State Government is putting in place a workshop like this through the Ministry of Education to sensitize stakeholders on the danger and effect of Examination Malpractice in our society, it is expected of other stakeholders and most importantly everyone present at this workshop to collaborate with the State Government by not only spreading the news of the menace of Examination Malpractice but also reporting cases of it as well to the appropriate authorities.,” she said.
Officials of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), National Examinations Council (NECO) and the Lagos State Examination Board discussed various topics under the theme: “The Effects and Solutions to Examination Malpractice in the Society”.
Speaking on the consequences of examination malpractice, Director /Registrar, Lagos State Examinations Board, Dr Amudaniyu Hassan, said it inspires laziness, wrongdoing and reduces integrity of certificates people bear.
He said: “Examination Malpractice discourages hard work on the part of students. Many times, the corrupt ones by their deeds pull the hardworking students to abandon their studies and join them to depend on quack arrangements that rarely fail.”
On his part, speaking on the “Effects and Solutions of Examination Malpractice,” Mr Agboola Kolapo of NECO listed 17 ways by which candidates could perpetrate examination malpractice including leakages, copying, double scripts, impersonation, collusion and bringing in foreign materials into the hall.
In his presentation on “Examination Ethics”, Deputy Registrar/Zonal Coordinator, WAEC, Ikeja, Mr Idowu Ojo said examination malpractice could only be checked if stakeholders collaborate.
“No government, agency, examining body, individual or group of individuals can eradicate examination malpractice from the society. There is therefore the need for public enlightenment on the evil effects of examination malpractice. Furthermore, only a synergy among all concerned- students, parents, school administrators, examining bodies and the entire society at large could guarantee malpractice-free examinations,” he said.
Source: The Nation