Malpractice: WAEC Registrar Accuses Candidates Of Bringing Guns, Chemicals To Exam Hall
The Registrar of the West African Examination Council (WAEC), Iyi Uwadiae, on Tuesday, said that some private candidates now bring guns and chemicals into the examination hall in order to instill fear in the minds of invigilators and carry out examination malpractices.
The Registrar, who revealed this while addressing journalists in Lagos said that examination malpractice has remained the most notorious challenge making examination bodies spend more money than required.
He said that part of the Council’s effort to frustrate operators of rogue websites who have continued to device ingenious and sophisticated methods, is to organise an International summit on examination malpractice which will begin this month in Lagos.
The WAEC boss stressed that the lives of the staff are being threatened as a result of examination malpractices, saying that some candidates come into the examination hall with guns and chemicals.
According to him, the malaise has assumed dangerous and criminal dimensions on the heel of advancement in technology which created the smart phones, the social media etc.
His words: “the emphasis on certificate in Nigeria also worsens the situation. It is only certificates that show some to be ‘first class’ graduates, but most lack first class principles.
Uwadiae stressed that the Council in five countries introduced several measures, adopted various strategies and deployed technologies at great costs in the fight against the ever- festering menace.
“Misguided candidates and their adult collaborators, sometimes including school authorities, teachers, parents and most recently, operators of rogue websites, have continued to device ingenious and sophisticated methods of teaching leading to an exponential increase in reported cases of fraud in public examinations.
“For instance, in May/June 1993 WASSE in Nigeria, the results of only 58,492 candidates were withheld because of examination malpractice, but by 2017, the number of candidates’ results similarly withheld had moved up to 214,952.
“Research studies have shown that one of the ways of curbing the worrisome trend in examination irregularities is the mounting of public enlightenment campaigns to draw the attention of the stakeholders in education sector and general public to the negative effects of examination malpractice on national development “, he added.
According to him, “The summit, tagged ‘Examination Malpractice: The Contemporary Realities and Antidotes’, is expected to have registrars/ CEOs of WAEC, JAMB, NECO and NABTEB as well as the chief government nominees on Council and representatives of school principals associations in the five member countries.
