THE PROBLEMS OF EXAMINATION MALPRACTICE IN HIGHER INSTITUTIONS AND HOW TO SOLVE THEM- A SPECIAL REFERENCE TO IMT ENUGU.
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THE PROBLEMS OF EXAMINATION MALPRACTICE IN HIGHER INSTITUTIONS AND HOW
TO SOLVE THEM- A SPECIAL REFERENCE TO IMT ENUGU.
TABLE OF CONTENT
CHAPTER ONE
Introduction
General background of the subject matter
Problems associated with the subject matter
Problem(s) that the study will be concerned with
The importance of studying the area
Definition of important terms
(Chapter) reference
CHAPTER TWO
2.1 Literature review
2.2 The origin of the study area
2.3 Schools of thought within the
subject area
2.4 The schools of thought relevant
to the problems of the study
2.5 Different methods of studying
the problem
2.6 Summary
References
CHAPTER THREE
3.1 Conclusion
3.2 Data presentation (highlights of
the study)
3.3 Analysis of the date
3.4 Recommendation
3.5 Conclusions
References
CHAPTER ONE
1
INTRODUCTION
Examination malpractice is common in most of our higher institutions in
Nigeria. It was its peak in the “70s” as cited by Nnamani P. Hence we hear
expo, (1973) common among the secondary school leavers.
Nowadays, “expo” as it is commonly called is practiced even by children
in the kindergarten primary institutions according to a nursery | primary
school teacher. She observed that after writing on the black board certain
words, concepts or ideals to be dictated to the children based on their
(children’s) cognitive level, some exam cheats would quickly scriple it on
their desks or at the back of their papers. Then, during the dictation session,
those cheats would copy from it. Therefore a good and careful teacher is an
assent in teaching, learning| Experiences for he or she could easily pick up
such fraudulent children.
The importance of an efficient and well integrated teaching services in
the development of any nation cannot be over emphasized because exam
malpractice in the higher institutions in Nigeria, which is the highest citadel
of learning from kindergarten, primary, secondary schools and then tertiary
institutions, and it constituted an act of indiscipline.
The academic conception of discipline shows it as a part or branch of
studies. That is why on the last convocation of institute of management and
Technology, the school management or authority cited that certificate was
issued both in character and in learning” ( Njeze C. 1997).
To achieve the above ideal, the lecturers’ roles are invaluable. This assertion
was supported by Uka (1995) who declared that “ on the health of the nation”.
it should be remembered that these students would become ( in future) the
leader of tomorrow (Ibian 1986) also cried out that “in every society, the
teacher is number 1 and in his care lies my children and yours”
Ukeje (1980) asserted that education is now, perhaps the fastest growing
industry in the country.
“Yet bedaiked by indiscipline activities like exam malpractices,
cultism in schools, sexual promiscuity, prostitution, alcoholism,
drug addition to maintain but a few. It should be noted that some states in the
federation allocate upward of 30% of their annual budget to education. Yet, all
over the country cited Ukeje (1980) there is a growing crises of supply and demand
in education, everything connected to education is in short supply. In some
states there is apparent confusion if not utter chaos.
The major problem is that indiscipline in schools especially in higher
institutions has assumed epidemic proportion. Initially, government stopped in
1975 and redoubled its efforts in 1977 when it set a national conference meant
for schools administrators where about 245 school administrators attended and
made some useful suggestions. Later government set up War Against Indiscipline
and WAI Brigade of which graduates are encouraged to be members. MAMSER-Mass
Mobilization for Social Justice and Economic Recovery which is now replaced
with National Orientation Agency (WOA). These schemes were hatched to dissuade
the youths from involving themselves in disciplinary actions including cheating
during examination.
To eradicate this despicable offence in school, the lecturers must be
given top priority in terms of incentives `since they will bear the brunt from
these fraudulent undergraduates whose disciplinary behaviours emanate from
other sources like the home, peer group, elders, mass media like TV and the
society generally. With the increase in cult activities in schools especially
IMT who may use their clandestine mischief against the disciplinary lectures.
It is unfortunate that a lot of lecturers have not been paid for 2 months now.
A good working condition which involves adequate remuneration with fringe
benefits with even professional allowances would encourage the teachers or
lecturers to dam what ever retribution that would visit them in punishing
examination fraudulent students.
The present Rector of the IMT, Dr Njeze c. had a strong disciplinary
examination committee which even set an example with the rector’s cousin, yet
examination malpractices has continued to increase debated. Consequently, most
may wish to influence members of the committee in cash and in kind. Most
students do not stay in school and do not attend lectures to the extent that
they do not even know their lecturers facially. These class of students openly
request for handout, which is banner in the IMT. The handout if gotten was
easily converted to expo or malpractice material for copying during examination
some of them who involve themselves in invisible “expo” are never caught by
supervisors.
Some of these students from very wealthy homes hire mercenary (expo
agents)who write examination for them ready to face rustication if discovered
and caught by supervisors. The fact is that these categories of students are
not even qualified to take exams if proved that they do not make
maximum attendance of lecture as required by the school rule and regulation.
To be cordial, some regular students are working class people and
they cannot leave their jobs in fear of not getting any in the future.
Consequently, they are unable to meet the attendance requirement and lack the
academic stuff to seat for examination without cheating. It will also be
observed that some lecturers still prefers to pass a students who
bought his handout or whose names are normally entered in their records rather
than students that gave the stuff without purchasing or buying their handouts.
GENERAL
BACK GROUND TO THE SUBJECT MATTER
The study covers the institute of management and technology, Enugu.
Through the work was carried out in IMT it did not cover the preliminary
students and other higher institutions due to financial constraints. Now that
transportation fares is very high because of fuel scarcity, it is very
difficult for the researcher to move to other schools.
The researchers also found it difficult and unreliably to get or find
students who are involved in cheating during examinations. The researcher also
finds it difficult to meet members of the IMT examination malpractice committee
for work reliable data.
1.2 PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE
SUBJECT MATTER.
This Study was embarked to ascertain what seemed to be the
feeling of the public on examination malpractice or cheating in higher
institution believed that examination malpractice is on the increase in higher
institutions in Nigeria, IMT inclusive.
The research surveys how the various institutions in general and IMT in
particular attempt to solve this problem through the school disciplinary
committee or panel.
The problems of this research are that there is no concrete evidence or
empirical data to determine that examination malpractice emanated from students
alone. Some critiques attack the lecturers, at the other time the peer group or
the society at large or the mass media especially the television. It is in the
light of the problem that the researcher declared it necessary to find out the
problems and causes of examination malpractice.
1.3 PROBLEM (S) THAT THE STUDY WILL
BE
Concerned with the study will be concerned with the.
a. Attitudes of society
b. Attitudes of
parents/guardians
c. Attitudes of students
themselves.
d. Problems of
unemployment and economic hardship.
e.
Over dependence of academic paper qualification as an index of time knowledge.
f. Attitude of
school authorities, lecturers.
a.
ATTITUDES OS PARENT/GUARDIANS: Many parents and guardians tends to deny many of
the privileges offered to successful wards or children to those children or
wards who do not well during the examination. Consequently, these of the less
intelligent student report to examination malpractice to pass in order to
secure favour from their parents. Parents should also realise that every
student should not be a genius, but rather given facilities equally with their
mates capable of ensuring the studied and passed their examinations.
The children/wards should not be pampered by their
parents and relation and issued with a lot of money capable
of negatively socialising the students of believe that their money is enough to
make them successful graduates. Without realising their books but and after
examinations. As a result of this negative socialization. Such wards do not
read hard joins secret cults and became very extravagant in schools.
b.
ATTITUDE OF SOCIETY: The society feels that every person who goes
to school must succeed very well not minding how such success result came
about.
Consequently, most people want to enrols into the IMT would
want to succeed by all means through financial settlement, mercenary system,
sexual immorality and so on. This idea held by members of the society helps to
exacerbate the rate of examination malpractices in the school.
Some students that have wealthy friends normally
collects a lot of money from them to ‘Sort’ or ‘settle’ the corrupt
lecturer or supervision. In fact some lecturer and supervisors never
involve themselves in such abnormal activities.
Some also use their money to enrol into cut groups so
as to seek protection, which to the researchers are false protection. Because
without reaching your books, you may not pass.
c. ATTITUDES OF THE
STUDENTS: The students idiosyncratic ` behaviour contribute a
lot on the high prevalence of ‘expo’ scans or activities in the IMT. The
students praise and hail successful expo exploits
who succeeded in
out writing the lecturers or intimidating
the examiners when caught.
The students also praised students who display lather or dangerous
weapons like pistols jack knives in the hall instead of helping to
discipline such students by alerting the school authority or lecturers
who we believe must keep such information very confidential. The
researchers are aware of the legitimate fears of such students who say that
they were mainly cult members that may terminate or end their lives, should
these cult cannibals learn that they were the source of information to the
school authority. Problems of unemployment and economic hardship. Labour market
is very competitive nowadays as result of economic underdevelopment. The
manufacture of computers have also aggravated the already worse level of
unemployment, because a computer can do a job 100 men can perform in one day in
15 minutes.
As a result of this, student want to pass through fair or fowl means.
Education itself in now a battlefield and examination itself is a war front.
There fore, the student must pass very well murder to compete favourably in the
labour market in search of employment.
Political instability has also increased the economic problems of
Nigeria where money worth and value has diminished considerably. The IMT is in
Nigeria and share part of these problems more especially now that students use
even the money meant for feeding to purchase or buy handouts. It is true that
the IMT authority pronounced that it is no longer compulsory for buying
handouts but the lecturers’ handouts must be bought by each student
and
names of such student written down, so as to use it during marketing of the
scripts. any student who fails to buy such handout may not see his result until
he buys the handout even if you photocopied it from
your classmate
After suffering a lot of deprivations in the school no student would
like to fail, hence expo or cheating or examination malpractice became
institutionalised by the students as the ultimate for onwards movement to the
next class with his mates.
e. over dependence on academic paper qualification as an index true
knowledge.
To day, most Nigerians still used the qualification and
measures of a persons true academic ability
especially in the arts based course like mass communications where practical
courses are absent. Even in the
science based courses some people rely on the paper qualification
for
competitive employment and placement on particular posts and financial
remunerations.
Consequently, a lot of students therefore insisting on getting a good
paper qualification by all means including cheating. On the contrary the
multination films dominated by the white men insists that practical courses
must back whatever qualification one obtains.
Ethnicism and ethnocenticism, Favouritism and Sectionalism etc are other
factors used in Nigeria for employment opportunities and placement. The
desperate students there insists on at least passing very well hoping that
someday, someone may wish to help and a good certificate may be an additional
advantage.
F. Attitude of the school authorities, Lecturers, Examiners etc. Because
the Lecturers, Supervisors etc Salaries are not paid as and when due they are
induced to search foe money in this hard times. Many innocent
Lecturers or Examiners may collect money from desperate students abating and
aiding examination malpractices.
In search of greener pasture, they may
even collect more money to deliver examination
papers to students to sit outside the hall. These scripts are often marked as
if it was equally written during the examination. Having collected money, the
lecturer or examiner may ignore giraffing i.e. peeping into another persons
work, mercenary’ activities and absentee types of cheating can be
allowed.
1.4
THE IMPORTANCEOF STUDING THE AREA
The level of examination malpractices in the IMT Enugu has continued to
increase from strength to strength and the researchers wish to prefer the
following solutions.
a. Stepping up of the
examination malpractice disciplining committee.
It is true that the school has examination malpractices disciplinary
committee but efforts must be steeped up to the increase the punishment melted
out to defaulters.
b. Cult membership must
be discouraged and all such cases must be sent
to the police for severe criminal
reprisals as a deterrent to other
students. Since, it has
been observed that cult members have more propensity to cheat and to unleash
reprisals or attack on examiners, lecturers and
supervisors are even students at large.
c. Students who do not
satisfy the attendance requirements should not
be allowed to sit for
the examination since it has been discovered that
a lot of these cheats do not attend their normal class.
This rule is also enshrined in the school rules and
regulation but is often not taken serious.
d. The students must
also be encouraged to attend classes and do their
assignments and
quizzes and a rule should disqualify those who
ignored such rules.
This idea is in agreement with the Nigerians new educational policy
recommending continuous assessment.
These quizzes will help the students read and revise their papers and
copy their note or even reads their handout which are often stamped in three
days to take examination or cheat or malpractice in this three days planning in
different. Forms and strategies of cheating.
b. Governments should
ensure that lecturers are paid promptly i.e. and
when due.
The lecturers, examination and supervisors should be
paid more than anybody in the Federation as it is done in the U.S. This
is because they are the producers of tomorrow, the doctors, politicians,
engineers, broadcasters etc. In the IMT, the researchers observed
that the lecturers has not paid
for months now. Such of duty by the government will encourage
malpractices in that hungry families lecturers may collect ,money from
desperate students in other to cheat or allow them cheat.
f. The lecturers, examiners and the supervisors should
ensure that no students goes with any piece of paper and redouble
their efforts to ensure that the students do not come out with mini computer
machines in their name of calculating machines.
g. The general public
should not emphasize on aptitude and demonstration or exhibition of learned
behaviour rather than over-emphasize on paper qualification.
h. Parents should be
meant to understand that the home is a major agency of socialization therefore
sending them into school for further education. And while at school, they
should not over pamper them (their children) by stuffing them money above what
the students needed for it has been discovered that cheating is even more
common with some over pampered children of the rich who use their money tto
settle, sort lecturers, supervisors or examiners or even staff working in
closer proximity with lecturers etc.
i.
Lecturers, examiners and supervisors should stop collecting money from students
in order to give them more marks than
the
scored.
This is called sorting by students and this act should be stopped in order to
give the students courage to read their looks.
j. Handouts
should not be made compulsory task. The lecturers should not force students to
buy handouts for the students did not come from the same families i.e. all the
families are not equal, some are wealthy why some are poor. And on English
proverb said something about that and that is that all fingers are not equal.
1.5
Definition of important terms
1.
War Against Indiscipline (WAI) it was set up during Buhari/Idiagbor regime to
instill and inculcate the spirit of discipline and good behaviour on Nigerian
people.
2.
MAMSER: A programme by general Babangida which means Mass Mobilization for
Social Justice and Economic Recovery. It was meant to rementate the
Nigerian populace towards self reliance, which will help to curtail
indisciplinary behaviour on the Nigerian people.
3.
NOA (As was called under late General Abacha’s government but similar to MAMSER
discussed above for mobilizing the Nigerian not only for economic recovery but
also for his self-succession.
4.
Expo: It means or denotes Examination Malpractice as was common in
early 70s called expo 70 or expo set or expo students. During this period, the
cheating was massively practiced by students in many ways.
5.
Mershi (mercenary): This is a kind of malpractice where by a person
impersonifies himself to take or seat an examination for another person. An
analogy could be found in a situation where a foreign soldier fights for an
indeginous soldier in which a form of fee is paid for the services. The soldier
is called a mercenary soldier. In the case of cheating the impersonifying cheat
has to be paid to take such a risk.
6.
Invisible expo: it is a form of malpractice where the cheat uses finished biro
to write down points or ideas about a particular examination which may not be legible
or seen or noticed by the supervisor.
7.
Sorting: it is a common slang in IMT meaning bribing ones way either a
supervisor, teacher or lecturer or non-academic personnel etc.
8.
Giraffing: Peeping at a fellow student’s examination papers with the intention
to copy his work.
9.
Armour: Arming or suffering oneself with materials for cheating so that it will
be easily replaced if marched away from the cheating students.
10.
Omo-Kirikiri: As the name implies, it is writing very tinny points or ideas
about an examination with an intention to cheat or copy from it.
11.
Cultism: A secrete group formed in the school meant for in group protection and
out group intimidation of lecturers, non-members of their cult, fellow students
both males and females etc. These secrete groups answers several names like the
Pirates, Black axe, Buccaniers etc. Some of these groups existed even during
the colonial period but was used patriotically to struggle for political
emancipation and independence from colonial rule.
12.
Omo-Reminder: This is where ideas of or about the examination might be put down
in short forms to remind the students on what to write.
13.
Coding: Students may employ special codes or pass words or symbols which if
heard or seen by the lecturers they can never interpret it.
14.
High Technology expo: Using certain Japanese products (calculators) to store
information about the papers they are taken and remembering to press the
necessary button to deceive the lecturer not to discover that they (students)
are picking fact about the subject or the paper from the so called calculating
machine. This storage area is meant for storing names and addresses.
15.
Economy: This is also a slang used by students which implies the set of bad
students normally boys who on the examination hall threatens to kill or harm
supervisors when caught cheating in the examination hall.
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