COMPLETE SCHOOL PROJECT TOPICS & MATERIALS :
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CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
Examination is the assessment of a person’s performance when confronted with series of questions, problems or tasks set for him/her in order to ascertain the amount of knowledge that he/she has acquired, extent to which he/she is able to utilize it or the quality and effectiveness of the skills he/she has developed (Asuru, 2010). Examinations are used for various purposes in teaching and learning, prominent among which are monitoring students’ progress, promotion and certification. It also serves a formative function for diagnosis of students learning problems, for motivation and improvement of student academic performance as well as summative functions for administrative purposes.
Examination malpractice has been defined differently by educators, authors, researchers, administrators and supervisors. Onuoha (2009) defined examination malpractice as unfair practices or irregularities or infringement or irregularities during the conduct of examination. He posited that examination malpractice in recent times has become a threat to the integrity of the nation. As a cankerworm, it has eaten deep into the fabric of the education industry, thus becoming a global issue which has caused some sleepless nights to many genuine academics and scholars. In spite of the crusade made against it by the government and other lovers of education, it still grows speedily more than ever. To Ahmed (2010), examination malpractice is any act of wrongdoing or neglect that contravenes the rules and regulations of acceptable practice before, during and after an examination by any reason. Nowadays, it is not uncommon to hear people discuss examination malpractice as if it is a custom. Perpetrators of this social menace view it as an act which everybody partakes in, hence it is generally acceptable. Therefore, it is not impossible these days to see students with distinction in the west African Examination Certificate (WAEC) Senior School certificate Examination (SSCE), General certificate in Education (GCE) or the equivalent or even first class and second class upper in the universities who cannot defend the certificate. The reason behind it is nothing but examination malpractice which has sucked deep into virtually all levels of the education system. These acts are unbecoming and need to be curtailed. It is a disease; it calls for the attention of all and sundry.
Nwahunanye (2004) posited that some years back, the decision to attend secondary school was in itself a crucial vocational choice. Secondary school education has as one of its objectives; to provide education of higher level, irrespective of sex, social status, religious or ethnic background. National Policy on Education (2004) section 5 sub – section 22 (a) lamented „the extent to which these objectives are being achieved in teaching and learning in secondary schools as in every other level of education is usually appraised or evaluated through examination‟. It is also impossible for one to obtain an academic certificate after passing through an institution without being evaluated. The reverse is also the case due to the way some of our undergraduates see the pursuit of good academic certificate as a do or die affaire.
During examination periods, students prepare for the examination in different ways. Some read a month before the examination. Some still prefer using the night before the examination to write down points which they would take into the examination hall. These are mostly the category of students who do not see any reason to prepare for the exercise but rely on “expo” to succeed. In the examination halls, the perpetrators of this unwholesome act operate in divergent ways as they want to make good grades and reap where they did not sow. Examination misconduct in the hall can take the form of giraffing / peeping from another person‟s examination papers, writing on the palms, desks and piece of papers, smuggling of examination halls and so on and so forth. Outside the halls, the misconduct can take the shape of sorting of the already written examinations either through the teachers or their agents. This cankerworm has eaten deep into the fabrics of the Nigerian educational system; thereby, rending our educational institutions hopeless. They are so unbecoming that if nothing is done and no time too, our secondary school education and other levels of education will be mess.
Commenting on the issue of examination misconduct, Sumnoh (2010), remarks that government is the major cause of examination malpractice. He went further to describe the government salary system as just staving wages cities an example with the secondary school teachers. He said that if teachers were well paid, they would see no reason to aid or be involved in examination malpractice. One is not saying here that high salary and allowances will totally stop examination malpractice, it will help to curb it. However, it is pointless dragging the argument as to who is responsible for the cases of examination malpractice in our secondary schools. It is equally illogical to think that one particular group, whether students, teachers, government or the society can solve the problem of examination misconduct in our secondary schools. Those who are concerned, directly or indirectly with the educational system should share the responsibility of curbing the menace of examination misconduct in our secondary schools and other levels of education. It is not that nothing has been done on the issue of examination malpractice. The history of examination misconduct in Nigeria is quite old. The problem assumed a national character in 1967. Then a committee was set up to carry out an investigation into the explosion of examination malpractice that year. Also decree No. 25 of 1993 on examination leakage imposes a penalty of five (5) years imprisonment or an option of two thousand naira fine on any person found guilty in connection with examination leakage. Despite this, examination malpractice is still being witnessed and practiced. Its fruits are educated illiterate undergraduates.
In order to ameliorate the incidence of examination misconduct, and in fact, improve the standard of our secondary school education, it is necessary to unveil the modus operandi and multifarious strategies adopted by the perpetrators of this unwholesome and un-academic act and alert students of the ugly effects, academically and other wise. The awareness will help the authorities to check the current pervasiveness of examination malpractice in our secondary schools and other institutions of higher learning.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
The problem which this project work is set to investigate as envisaged by the researchers is on the causes and effects of examination malpractices among students in higher institutions, especially in Lagos State University. This is important as questions have been raised concerning the issue of examination malpractice. Such questions include:
- Are there causes and effects of examination malpractice hindering our education system?
- What are those factors and in what ways have they hampered examination?
- Are these other factors hindering the educational system?
The aim of the research is to find out the answers to those questions during the research work and make efforts to examine the causes and effects of the menace called examination malpractice.
This is important because according to Umaru (2005), researches showed that more than 60% of university graduate in our society today and many undergraduates perpetrate the acts examination misconduct which has simultaneously ravaged the system and made students handicapped towards reading and ardent study. It is therefore, imperative to checkmate this ugly development in our educational industry before it rubbishes it completely.
1.3 Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to examine the attitude of university students towards examination malpractice and its implication on effective learning. It also seeks to find out various methods employed by students as well as the roles by lecturers, parents, tertiary education authorities and the society at large. Basically, the study seeks to:
- Ascertain the factors that brings about examination malpractice in higher institutions;
- Ascertain the effects of examination malpractice on the performance of undergraduates;
- Ascertain appropriate control measures towards curbing examination malpractice in higher institutions.