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WAEC raises alarm over increased cases of exam malpractice

By Iyabo Lawal
12 October 2017   |   3:47 am
Dr. Iyi Uwadiae who raised the alarm at an interactive session with reporters in Lagos said the major challenge facing the body is examination malpractice, which he said has assumed a dangerous and criminal dimension.

Dr. Iyi Uwadiae who raised the alarm at an interactive session with reporters in Lagos said the major challenge facing the body is examination malpractice, which he said has assumed a dangerous and criminal dimension. PHOTO: www.olisa.tv

The West African Examination Council (WAEC) has expressed fresh concern over increased cases of examination malpractice, calling on stakeholders to rise to the challenge to save the sector.

The Registrar, Dr. Iyi Uwadiae who raised the alarm at an interactive session with reporters in Lagos said the major challenge facing the body is examination malpractice, which he said has assumed a dangerous and criminal dimension.

Citing the negative effect of technological advancement, Uwadiae said candidates are now more sophisticated in their antics.

He said, “Currently, the malaise has assumed dangerous and criminal dimensions on the heels of some advancement in technology which created smartphones and the social media among others. The council, in the five member-countries has introduced several measures, adopted various strategies and deployed technologies at great costs in the fight against the festering menace.”

According to the registrar, “Misguided candidates and their adult collaborators, sometimes with the connivance ofschool authorities, teachers and parents have continued to devise ingenious and sophisticated methods of cheating leading to an exponential increase in reported cases of fraud in public examinations.

For instance, a worried Uwadiae disclosed that in the May/June 1993 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) in Nigeria, the results of only 58,494 candidates were withheld because of examination malpractice, which had shot up to 214,952 in 2017.

The registrar, who gave the council pass mark in its war against malpractice however alerted that the lives of WAEC staffs are being threatened by these unscrupulous elements.

He alleged that some private candidates now come to the examination hall with guns while school candidates drug their supervisors.

The registrar lamented that external forces are threatening the council, including parents who go to any length to buy examination papers for their wards.
To address the trend, Uwadiae said the council has concluded plans to conduct a summit on the aimed at deliberating on ways of tackling the menace.

The two-day summit billed to hold on October 19 and 20 and titled, “ Examination Malpractice: The contemporary realities and antidotes,” is aimed at drawing attention of stakeholders in the sector to the negative effects of exams irregularities on national develop

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