STOP EXAMINATION MALPRACTICE IN OYO STATE

The Oyo State Directorate of the National Orientation Agency (NOA) has urged students who engage in examination malpractice to desist in order to restore integrity into the education system.

The State Director of NOA, Mr Femi Mapaderun, made the call on Wednesday in Ibadan during a stakeholder’s conference on raising integrity standards in examination administration.
Mapaderun said the standard of education in any society could only be measured by the quality of the performance of its citizens in examinations. According to him, everybody, including parents and teachers who sometimes aid students in committing the crime, have a key role to play in restoring discipline to the education sector.

``Moral ineptitude pervades every sector, even the education sector. However, over the years, the infection of exam malpractice has threatened the legitimacy of certificates acquired by our citizens.

``Gone are the days when students are vetted not only by their academic qualifications, but also by their morals. This terrible situation is having a negative impact on the quality of our products.

``There are thousands of graduates roaming the streets looking for jobs but who are not employable because their proficiency and competence do not tally with their certificates.

``We all have a challenge; we all have a duty as stakeholder’s to shape the future of these young ones. How we mould them today determines the future we expect from them,’’ he said.
Also speaking, the Oyo State Commissioner for Education, Mrs Adetokunbo Fayokun, represented by Mrs Adewunmi Akindele, said cases of malpractice were on the increase.

The commissioner, however, reiterated the commitment of the state government toward eradicating examination malpractice, saying, ``we hope that our commitment in transforming the sector is achieved sooner than expected.’’

The Chairman of the Teaching Service Commission of Oyo State (TESCOM), Mr Olakunle Dahunsi, said exam malpractice undermines the efforts of teachers in impacting knowledge.
JAMB representative, Mr Muyiwa Odekunle, said that the body had been in the forefront for setting standards for integrity, adding that this informed the proposed introduction of e-exams soon.

``The e-exams are a way of curbing exam malpractice within the situation. Parents and stakeholders should change their habit of celebrating success achieved through illegal means,’’ Odekunle said.
Mrs Iyabode Ojedokun, who represented the Zonal Coordinator of NECO, Usman Abubakar, said the implication of exam malpractice was the production of half educated youths.

She said society must always encourage and reward hard work to change orientation and improve the value system of graduates.

The Exam Ethics Project, an NGO, said about 12 per cent of candidates that sit for the SSCE engage in one form of exam malpractice or the other.