Okebukola laments plagiarism in Nigerian Universities

AFTER taking a hard look at the state of tertiary education in Nigeria, the former Executive Chairman, National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof Peter Okebukola has come out with a harsh verdict: 60 per cent of undergraduate course project in the Nigeria university system are plagiarised.

Speaking yesterday at Iyanho, near Auchi, Edo state during the commissioning of the CANVAS Learning Management System (LMS) at Edo State University, Okebukola lamented that the issue of plagiarism was so bad that at times, a whole project is either plagiarised or some elements in it are copied and pasted by students.

He disclosed that there are soft wares which are embedded in the software and are capable of detecting plagiarism.

He said: “Plagiarism means copying from somebody without attributing it to the person. Many of our students, even lecturers will just go to Wikipedia and copy the page and paste it as if they are the authors. So when the lecturer, who maybe because of the volume of the work cannot go through, sees it, he will say my students are brilliant not knowing that they copied.”

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On how plagiarism is detected, he explained that if a paper is for example published and another person writes a similar paper and is inserted in the worldwide Web of the software and tries with his name,  it will run through the paper and say that the paper is 60 percent plagiarised.

The former NUC boss rolled out the benefits of LMS, noting that it will open the institution to the world, enhance the digital learning of students and staff.

He described the LMC as a system that allowed instructors to interact with students and monitor their attendance in class.

He, however, urged the institution to apply to the NUC for distance learning so as to derive the benefit of the LMS.

Represented by the Registrar, National Board for Technical Examination Board (NABTEB) Prof Ifeoma Mercy Isiugo-Abanihe, the Minister of Education, Alhaji Adamu Adamu, said that the initiative will not only benefit the university but will go a long way in facilitating the interaction among teachers and students, parents and other stakeholders.

Adamu advised the institution to collaborate with critical stakeholders in the industrial and manufacturing and agricultural sector for maximum utilisation of the facility.

The Vice-Chancellor of the institution, Prof Emmanuel Aluyor assured that the school will keep up with introduction technology until it achieves its feat as one of the best universities in the world.