The Impact of Examination Malpractice on the Educational System

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF STUDY

Education may be traced back to the dawn of time. This is due to the fact that human beings are always learning new things in order to develop and progress in their lives. Education has been institutionalized by society as a whole over the years, recognizing the critical role it plays in the lives of individual people and the well-being of society as a whole. “Education is considered as the crucial transforming tool and powerful instrument for socio-economic empowerment,” writes Eze in Oforka (2012), on the basis of this concept. A similar point of view is expressed by Anyikwa and Igwe (2015), who assert that “education is a sure means to raise the awareness of individual members of any community in order to create peace, harmony, and national progress.”

The education process, according to Okoh (2017), is the action of conserving, developing, and passing a people’s culture from one generation to the next. Education is more of a process than it is an idea because it is a process. Continual all-round growth of the individual in order to prepare him or her for life in society is what it is. Because education is defined as a process and as such an action rather than a notion in the paragraph above, it may be thought of as an activity that involves the transference of information or knowledge. Education and the transfer of knowledge are both educational processes that require assessment. Evaluation is an inherent part of the teaching and learning process, and it is completed at the conclusion of each lesson. Between assessments, a more severe examination (examination) is held occasionally, often at the conclusion of each term, semester, or session. This examination is used to determine placement. Being placed in this position entails being promoted to a higher class, earning a high grade, earning a good certificate that can help you find work, and so forth.

An examination is described as a formal test of one’s knowledge or competence in a certain topic, often conducted through the answering of questions or the performance of practical exercises. The quality of information obtained by pupils over a period of time is assessed or tested by examination, which is why examination is used to determine this. As a result, the examination might be internal or external, oral or written, or a combination of the two. Internal examinations include things like continuous evaluation scores, terminal, semester, yearly, and promotion examinations, to name a few examples. (Benard,1988). In addition to the Common Entrance Examinations for entry into secondary schools, the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and the National Examination Council (NEC) administer School Certificate Examinations (NECO). The Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) is currently administered by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) (UTME).

As previously said, examination looks to be a portal or door that allows for the acquisition of new statuses to be more easily achieved. It is for this very important reason why the great majority of applicants for examination prefer to go to whatever length to ensure that they pass their exams, regardless of the implications of their activities. Examination misconduct is a serious snag in the educational system in Nigeria, causing it to grind to a halt. Examining the earliest instance of examination misconduct in Nigeria, Maduemezia (2003) found that it occurred in 1914 during the Senior Cambridge Local Examination papers, which were leaked before they were supposed to be administered. As a result, examination malpractice, which had previously been on the decline, began to become more prevalent in 1970, including individuals other than the applicants. The sophistication  of examination malpractice  has increased significantly since then. However, the year 1977 marked a turning point in the history of examination malpractice in Nigeria, as there was widespread public concern about the credibility of the West African Examination Council (WAEC), which was the only organization tasked with the responsibility of conducting public examinations in the country.

The term “examination malpractice” was coined by Awanbor (2004) to describe an illegal act committed by a single student or in collaboration with others such as fellow students, parents, teachers, supervisors, invigilators, computer operators, secretarial staff, or anyone or group of people before, during, or after an examination in order to obtain undeserved marks or grades. In this regard, the purpose of the research is to assess the impact of examination misconduct on the educational system.

 STATEMENT OF RESEARCH PROBLEM

With several infrastructural developments in most secondary and tertiary institutions in Nigeria, the education system in Nigeria has undergone a continuous revolution. However, examination malpractice has become a bottleneck in the growth and development of the educational system in Nigeria, preventing it from reaching its full potential. Some of the factors that contribute to test malpractice include students’ low socioeconomic backgrounds, their social group, the fear of failing factor, and a lack of confidence on the part of the students.

in accordance with Ayode (2015). However, despite the fact that students’ performance in examinations may not be a true reflection of their ability, examinations continue to be the best tool for an objective assessment and evaluation of what a learner has achieved after a period of schooling or training. When students engage in malpractice, the purpose of examination is altered, and the education system as a whole becomes decadent. Because examination is one of the most reliable indicators of students’ performance in a given training, Ifeanyi (2017) argues that any adulteration in its process is an adulteration of the education system, which results in half-baked students and a deterioration in the country’s effective human capital development.

Contrarily, while numerous studies have been conducted on examination malpractice, none have been conducted on the impact of examination malpractice on the educational system in Nigeria; as a result, there is a gap in the literature that has prompted the researcher to conduct this study on the impact of examination malpractice on the educational system in Nigeria.

 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF STUDY

The broad objective of this study  is to examine  the impact of examination malpractice on the educational system in Nigeria.. Other specific objectives of the study include:

i.          To examine the extent at which tertiary institution student indulge in examination malpractice.

ii.        To determine the causes of examination malpractices in secondary schools and tertiary institutions in Nigeria

iii.      To ascertain the effect of examination malpractices on the academic achievement of secondary school students in Nigeria

iv.        To investigate  whether examination malpractice will have any significant impact on the education system in  Nigeria.

v.          To proffer solution to  mitigate student involvement in examination malpractice.

RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

The research is guided by the following research hypothesis:

Ho1: The extent at which tertiary institution student indulge in examination malpractice is low.

Hi1: The extent at which tertiary institution student indulge in examination malpractice is high.

Ho2: Examination malpractice has no significant effect on the educational system in Nigeria.

Hi2: Examination malpractice has significant effect on the educational system in Nigeria

SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

The study on the effect of examination malpractice on the educational system in Nigeria will be of immense benefit to the entire secondary schools in Nigeria, the state and the federal government and other researchers that wishes to carry out similar research on the above topic as the findings from the study will educate the government on the effect of examination malpractice on the educational system in Nigeria, the study will also reveal the causes and effect and solution to examination malpractice in the Nigeria educational system

 SCOPE OF STUDY

The study on the impact of examination malpractice on the educational system in Nigeria is limited to tertiary institution  in Lagos state. The study will cover the effect of examination malpractice on the educational system in Nigeria and also the causes and effect and solution to examination malpractice in the Nigeria educational system. The study is limited to University of Lagos state, Nigeria.

 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

Like in every human endeavour, the researchers encountered slight constraints while carrying out the study. The significant constraint was the scanty literature on the subject owing that it is a new discourse thus the researcher incurred more financial expenses and much time was required in sourcing for the relevant materials, literature, or information and in the process of data collection, which is why the researcher resorted to a limited choice of sample size covering only  university of Lagos State in Lagos State. Thus findings of this study cannot be used for generalization for other  primary schools in other  states within Nigeria. Additionally, the researcher will simultaneously engage in this study with other academic work will impede maximum devotion to the research. Howbeit, despite the constraint encountered during the  research, all factors were downplayed in other to give the best and make the research successful.

 DEFINITATION OF TERMS

Malpractices: It is the action of any person usually not in conformity with laid down rules and regulations whether internal or external.

Examination malpractice: Examination malpractice is commonly defined as a deliberate wrong doing contrary to official examination rules designed to place a candidate at an unfair advantage or disadvantage.

Education system: An education system refers to the economic and social factors that typically make up public schools at the federal, state or community levels. Such factors include public funding, school facilities, staffing, compensation, employee benefits, teaching resources and more