STAKEHOLDERS in the education sector have called on the federal government to severely sanction schools involved in astronomical increase in registration fees charged for West African Examination Council (WAEC) and National Examination Council (NECO) examinations.
They have also called for stiffer punishment for culprits of examination malpractice to stop the further spread of the menace.
The call was made in Abuja on Friday, during a one-day national Sensitisation workshop with the theme “The Role of Education Stakeholders in Tackling Examination Malpractice in Nigeria.”
The workshop was organised by the National Examinations Council (NECO) in collaboration with the National Assembly to sensitise Nigerians on the effect of examination malpractice.
Speaking at the event, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Basic and Secondary Education, Senator, Hon. Julius Ihonvbere, lamented that some schools have hiked WAEC, NECO registration fees to as much as N45,000 to N60,00 from the original N18,000 stipulated by the Government.
The approved fee charged by the examination bodies per candidate was N13,950 as far back as 2017. The amount was however, recently raised to N18,000 because of the prevailing inflation in the country.
Ihonvbere, stressed that parents aiding and abetting examination malpractices are merely destroying the future of their children, while lamenting that in many schools there is absolutely no control.
“In fact, the school authorities connive with others to carry out these acts. As we speak, in my constituency, schools are collecting between 50-60 thousand for those who want to register for WAEC or NECO. For WAEC, the exam fee is N18,000 but they are collecting from N45000 to N6000.
“We need to design how we can bring these institutions down and sanctions must be very severe,” he said.
Deputy chairman of the Senate Committee on Basic and Secondary Education, Senator Akon Eyakenyi lamented that examination malpractice is ruining the educational system of credibility, while calling for collective action to curb it before it causes full damage to the system.
“Examination malpractice is one practice that can completely ruin our education system of credibility. We therefore, have a task to ensure that we rescue the soul of our educational system from the stretch hold of examination malpractice.
“It is the responsibility of every stakeholder in the education sub sector of our national economy to rise to the challenge of arresting the monster called examination malpractice before it causes more damage to our educational system.
“Managers of the education subsector should ensure the culprits should be punished and those who did well should also be appreciated to encourage them. Law enforcement and anti-craft agencies should continue to lay their helping hands and step up support for the fight against examination malpractice,” she said.
The Registrar /Chief Executive of NECO, Professor Ibrahim Dantani Wushishi, said one of the biggest challenges bedeviling the conduct of public examinations now is the issue of examination malpractice.
“Examination malpractice has the tendency to discourage hard work among serious students, lowers educational standards, discredit certificates, and lead to the production of quacks, thereby affecting the manpower needs of the nation.
“We must therefore take collective responsibility to rid them of this bad habit of wanting to cut corners,” he said.
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