Malpractice

CHECKING EXAMINATION MALPRACTICE IN NIGERIAN SCHOOLS By Dr. (Mrs.)A.O. Oredein, Institute of Education, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Nigeria.

Abstract The dimensions of examination malpractice in schools are discussed. The paper also discussed the use of moral instruction as a way of managing students’ examination malpractices in schools. Examination malpractice tends to relegate certificates issued at different levels of education. The level of this corruption in society inadvertently originated from primary and secondary schools. It is nvw affecting our tertiary institutions and thus has become a societal problem. ft is however noted that students are not the only culprits and so there are needs for urgent moral instruction for all educational stakeholders. Among other recommendations, it was suggested that a good foundation of self-discipline and moral character be laid for youths. Introduction One of the objectives of education in Nigeria is to prepare the young ones to face future challenges and develop them to meet the nation’s manpower requirements. Schools need to conduct examinations as yardstick for assessment. It is the most practical way of assessment in education Maduka (1993) defined examination as a way to ascertain how much of a subject matter in a particular field of study the candidate has mastered. Homby (1995) defined an examination as a formal lest of somebody ‘s knowledge or ability in a particular subject, especially by means o f answering questions or practical exercises (p. 58). Balogun (1999) also defined it as the process through which students are evaluated or tested to find out the quality of knowledge they have acquired within a specified period.

Examinations could be internal or external. It could be oral, written or both. Examples of internal examinations are continuous assessment tests, terminal, semester and annual or promotion examinations. Examples of external (public) examinations common in Nigerian schools are...