FOR CANDIDATES and schools bent on engaging in cheating and other forms of examination malpractice to beat the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) system, a shocker awaits them.At the end of its 52nd meeting held recently, the National Executive Council (NEC) of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) resolved to henceforth deregister schools and candidates caught taking part in future examination fraud and also have their names published.The Committee, which is the highest decision - making organ of the Council, will also decide the fate of 81,573 candidates, whose results were withheld based on reports of their alleged involvement in examination malpractice in the last May/June WASSCE in NigeriaAccording to the Director (Basic and Secondary Education Department) of the Federal Ministry of Education, Mrs. Mabel I. Ozumba, who is also the statutory Chairman of the Committee, reports on the conduct of the May/June 2011 WASSCE in Nigeria would be considered as well as malpractice cases which were reported during the conduct of the examination and the marking of scripts.Besides, special and restitution cases will also be considered at the meeting. 'In the course of considering the various cases of malpractice, the Committee endorsed appropriate sanctions as prescribed by the rules and regulations governing the conduct of the examination in cases which it believed had been established beyond reasonable doubt, after diligent deliberations,' she said.Ozumba insisted that the council was firm in its directive that some schools indicted for mass cheating during the conduct of the May/June 2011 WASSCE should be derecognized for a specified number of years, in addition to any other sanction imposed by the Council.'Also, school officials and teachers who were indicted for falling short of expectation or for their involvement in the perpetration of malpractice will be reported to the State Ministries of Education or the FCT, Abuja for disciplinary action,' She said.While expressing dismay at the rife incidences of malpractices in examinations in Nigeria, the NEC membership comprising representatives from the Federal Ministry of Education, State Ministries of Education, and Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, All Nigeria Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS, Universities, the Registrar to Council, the Head of the National Office of the Council in Nigeria, Head of Test Development Division and Head of Test Administration Division were unanimous in their decision to compile a 'blacklist' of supervisors and invigilators who are indicted for any form of misdemeanor.Apart from barring schools from presenting candidates for the Council's examinations for certain number of years including other disciplinary actions, they were also quite emphatic that supervisors and invigilators involved would not participate again in any Council-related assignment anywhere in the country.Member of the Committee and President of ANCOPSS, Chief Adeniyi Falade said committee has also embarked on sensitization to draw the attention of stakeholders to the Chief Examiners report to enable them see their weaknesses, strength and allow them ask questions and doubts on issues that are not clear.However, the Chief Examiners Report on the November/December WASSCE and the May/June 2011 WASSCE harped on the weaknesses of candidates, which include shallow knowledge of the subject matter, disregard for rubrics and incorrect interpretation of questions, poor command of the English language, lack of Mathematics/Manipulative skills, poor knowledge of examination techniques, illegible handwriting and spelling mistakes.Among the recommendations proffered in the Chief Examiners Report for enhanced performance of candidates in future WASSCE were:' Candidates should read the questions and the rubrics carefully in order to understand the requirements of each question.' Candidates should learn the basic rudiments of English language for better and clearer presentation of their answers.' The prescribed texts in literature - in - English, Arabic and the Nigerian languages should be procured and thoroughly studied by candidates for better performance in examinations.' Qualified hands should be employed by governments and private owners of schools to teach various subjects.' Special attention should be given to training of candidates on legible handwriting so as to ensure clear conveyance of answers to examiners who will mark their scripts' Unnecessary preambles should be avoided while answering questions and the presentation of answers should be as concise as possible.Falade explained that the Committee has called on the State Ministries of Education and the FCT, Abuja to exercise more caution in recommending schools for recognition by the Council, while decrying the huge number of candidate being presented to some schools for examination, It also called foe close monitor of the activities of both the public and private secondary schools, particularly during and after registration of candidates for WASSCE and appealed to the various agencies charged with the development of education in Nigeria to address the issue of infrastructure deficit in schools.Meanwhile, the Head of National office of WAEC, Dr Uyi Uwadiae while commenting on the issue of de-recognition of schools, affirmed that depending on the severity and widespread nature of the offence, schools can get a minimum sanction of one year or above.Reiterating the Council resolve to put an end to all manner of examination fraud, he said some of the measure taken by the council include: publishing the names of the erring schools in the media and if possible the photographs as well, so that parents and students would be wary of such dubious educational institutions.He said: 'Until cases are proved beyond reasonable doubt, we cannot pronounce anyone guilty. After this meeting, we would be able to come out with analysis on schools and students found guilty'.As an agency responsible for assessing performance in public examinations, the WAEC boss said: ' in terms of standard and quality, examination standard remains the same compared to what happens the world over. WAEC has given itself to five member countries as a mirror to look at its educational system. The quality of our examination is of high standard, but in terms of performance, there has been remarkable improvement. People should not just use Mathematics and English as a yardstick for good performance and all stakeholders can use this to bring about improvement in the educational system'.
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