Nigeria underdeveloped to end exam malpractices – Minister
Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, has called on examination and assessment agencies in the country to build a multi-dimensional approach through Information and Computer Technology (ICT) in tackling examination malpractice.
The minister said Nigeria is underdeveloped to curb the menace of malpractice in public examinations.
Malam Adamu stated this in Lagos State while declaring open a one day National Sensitisation Workshop tagged: “The Role of Education Stakeholders In Tackling Examination Malpractice in Nigeria” jointly organised by the National Examinations Council (NECO) and the National Assembly, Daily Trust reports.
Represented by the Registrar Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, Professor Ishaq Oloyede, Adamu said Nigeria is underdeveloped to tackle issues of examination malpractices.
“Examination malpractice is a major problem affecting the conduct of public exams in Nigeria and let me say that Nigeria is underdeveloped in tackling issues of malpractice in our exams.
“ICT is the way to go in curbing this menace. It has become most critical that we must become creative in adopting ICT devices to protect the sanctity of our examinations across Nigeria,” he said.
The Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, Andrew Adejo, in his keynote address called on the National Assembly to enact laws for sanctions on consequent actions.
According to him, complexities arise following the loss of core values in Nigerian societies “Because we have forgotten our value system, they have collapsed and until we fix this, it may take a long time before the system recovers. We should look at the ways of correcting our value system.”
He suggested that culprits of examination malpractices must be made to face the law and advocated for a conducive learning environment.
Deputy Chairman Senate Committee on Education, Senator Akon Eyakenyi, said the National Assembly frowned at examination malpractice and hoped to tackle it with a holistic mind.
“The Committees on Education (Basic & Secondary) is using this opportunity to appeal to stakeholders, particularly to the parents and teachers of the students to sensitise themselves to ensure the spirit of examination malpractice is thoroughly purged out from their lifestyle.
She called on the government to hold private school operators to account while further challenging stakeholders to rise to the task of speaking out and taking informed decisions when and where needed.
“The media community should particularly lend its support to this patriotic fight. It is also my thinking that Monitoring and evaluation should be taken seriously across the board in the education sector. Supervision of both our learners and educators at all levels should be stepped up,” she added.
