Integrity, panacea to exam malpractice – ICPC Chairman

Education stakeholders in group photo graph with Secretary to the Commission, Dr. Elvis Oglafa

This was the position held by the Chairman, Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Mr. Ekpo Nta in his address at the 2nd Phase of Anti-Corruption Sensitization Workshop for Examination Bodies and other Stakeholders in the Education Sector in Nigeria, which was held at the Commission’s headquarters in Abuja, recently.

Participants were drawn from the National Examination Council (NECO), West African Examinations Council (WAEC), Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB), National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS), Principals and Examination Officers of Government Secondary Schools, Civil Society Organisations such as Exam Ethics and Marshals International amongst others.

Mr. Nta who was represented by the Secretary to the Commission, Dr. Elvis Oglafa, explained that it was not possible to speak of quality education without workable integrity and competence, saying “without multi-stakeholder integrity, examination malpractice will be rampant.”

According to him, examination malpractice poses a serious challenge to quality of education by churning out unqualified manpower which constitutes a serious hazard to every sector of the country’s life.

Against this backdrop, the ICPC Chairman charged all stakeholders in the education sector to imbibe the culture of integrity as a panacea to deal with examination malpractice in the nation’s institutions of learning.

“Can we really speak of quality education for our children without workable integrity and competence? And you know that without multi-stakeholder integrity examination malpractice will be rampant.

‘Those of us here, do we consider this as a serious challenge, and what role do we play to enhance the quality of education that we expect and cherish for our children.

‘Thus, how can we make integrity and capacity building for excellence be the utmost concern in our education as a panacea to deal with examination malpractice in our schools?” he asked rhetorically.

Earlier in her welcome address, the Acting Head of Education Department, ICPC, Mrs. Azuka Ogugua, stated that the workshop which was a follow-up to the first phase that held in November, 2016 was focused on the causes and prevention of exam malpractice before, during and after examinations.

She said that participants were expected to “brainstorm and bring up a working template which would be used in monitoring and eventual eradication of examination malpractice in the sector”.

Discussions during the workshop centred on the causes of examination malpractice and ways to curb the unwholesome trend. Participants were also divided into groups, brainstormed and came up with a draft working template for monitoring examinations by ICPC. The template seeks to ensure, among others, the Integrity of Examination Centres, Supervisors, Handling of Question Papers, Process, Worked Scripts, Reports, etc.

A participant from NAPPS, Mr. Charles Umekwe, expressed optimism at the expected result of the workshop especially with the fashioning of a monitoring template which he said “would surely aid in reducing examination malpractice to its barest minimum”.

As a stakeholder, he said “NAPPS would step-down the sensitization to all their members to actively join in the vanguard against examination malpractice in Nigeria”.