TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background
to the Study
Statement
of the Problem
Purpose of
the Study
Research
Questions
Research
Hypotheses
Significance
of the Study
Scope of
the Study
Operational
Definition of Term
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF
LITERATURE
Theoretical
Framework
Conceptual
Review
Concept of
Examination System in Nigeria
Concept of
Examination Malpractice
Perpetration
of Examination Malpractices by some Stakeholders
Curbing
examination dishonesty through value education
Computer-based
examination
Review of
Empirical Studies
Summary of
Literature Review.
CHAPTER
THREE
RESEARCH METHOD
Research
Design
Population,
Sample and Sampling Technique
Instrumentation
Procedure
for Data Collection
Method of
Data Analysis
CHAPTER
FOUR
DATA
ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATION AND DISCUSSION
Description
of the Sample Respondents
Discussion
of Findings
CHAPTER
FIVE
SUMMARY
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
Conclusion
Recommendations
REFERENCES
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
Teachers at different stages use examination to assess
and evaluate the academic achievement of students in the school system. In all
teaching and learning situations therefore, it is essential to find out from
time to time how much the students are achieving from what they are being
taught. In order to do this effectively, Teachers Examination Council, National
Teachers Institute (NTI), Classroom Teachers etc. assess the students by
administering weekly, termly, end of year test and or final examinations. The
overall aim of education is to shape the behaviour of an individual, so that he
or she can perform most effectively within his/her social milieu.
Bearing in mind the role that education plays in
nation building, a nation stands the risk of being under developed in terms of
accumulation of illiteracy, disease and poverty when its youths rejects the
honour of getting sound education and seems to opt for fraudulent activities
and deceptive ways in making ends meet as epitomized by examination malpractices
thereby negating the philosophy of sound education. The products of such a
system can only grow up to be cynics, unbelievers, insensible, dishonest,
ignorant, narrow-minded, myopic, unintelligent, deceptive, close-minded, one
sided beings who would be indifferent to the issues of development and
powerless to act, create and succeed.
Examination malpractices have a paralyzing effect on
the developing nation. It puts our youth, future leaders and professionals in a
situation that leads to a future of social, political and economic insanity and
bankruptcy. Engaging in examination malpractice leads to cancellation of
results which means great waste of resources to society and parents, and
provides sources of great agony and injustice to innocent students.
The importance of examination or test taking for
diagnosis, placement, classification and quality control in Nigerian
institutions have been greatly eroded and corrupted with malpractice which
constitute one of the most debilitating problems facing our education
institutions today, and they are constantly manifested and reported in our
schools, colleges and other higher institutions.
Examination malpractice is any activity of a student
or group of students whose purpose is to give any of them higher grades than
they would likely receive on the basis of their own achievements. Fatai (2005)
defines it as any irregular act exhibited by candidates or anybody charged with
the conduct of examination which is clearly a breach of the rules governing the
conduct and integrity of the examination. It is viewed as any act carried out
before, during and after an examination, which is against the rules set out for
the proper and orderly conduct of the examination, which is clearly a breach of
the rules governing the conduct and integrity of the examination. It has been
further described as an action done to gain undue advantage over other
candidates which is against the rule and regulations governing the conduct of
such examination for personal gain. Ojerinde (2000) revealed that cheating in
examinations is motivated by:
i.
The desperation to acquire
certificate or get placed in a programme or be selected for a position.
ii.
Carelessness on the part of the
teacher/examiners in safeguarding the examination paper before it is administered.
The National Policy on Education (FGN 2004) stipulates
that there is need for functional education for the promotion of a progressive
and united Nigeria. To this end, school programmes needed to be relevant,
practical and comprehensive: while interest and ability should determine
individual direction in education.
Examination
malpractice is any illegal act committed by a student single handedly or in
collaboration with others; like fellow students, parents, teachers,
supervisors, invigilators, printers and anybody or group of people before,
during or after examination in order to obtain undeserved marks or grades
(Wilayat, 2009). The West African Examinations Council (1992) referred to
examination malpractice as any irregular behaviour exhibited by candidates or
officials charged with the responsibility of conducting examination, in or
outside the examination hall, before, during
or after such
examination. It involves various
methods employed bycandidates to cheat during examinations. Similarly, Shonekan
(1996) stated that examination malpractice is an act of omission or commission that
contravenes those West African Examinations Council’s rules and regulations to
the extent of undermining the validity and reliability of the test and ultimately the integrity of the
certificate issued by the Council. Examination malpractice does not occur in
the examination hall alone, it occurs before, during and even after the examination.
Some forms of
examination malpractices are copying on sheet of papers, handkerchiefs,
desk/chairs; swapping of answer booklets and collusion with other candidates or
external agents. Others include leakage of examination questions before the
actual examination day. In some schools, especially, those privately owned, the
school authorities sometimes bribe invigilators, supervisors and police personnel
drafted to the centres so that they could turn a blind eye when malpractices
are being perpetrated. Electronic gadgets like calculators, organizers, radio
walk man and mobile phones are also used to carryout
examination malpractices. Annually, examination bodies give warnings to the candidates
to desist from bringing mobile phones into the examination halls but each year,
the use of mobile phones to commit examination malpractice is recorded(Onyechere,2007).
Other
forms of examination malpractices are bringing books or cribs into the hall,
insulting or assaulting supervisor or invigilator, replacement of answer script
with another one during or after the examination, impersonation, smuggling
scripts written outside into the examination hall, writing on thigh, stretching
of neck like the Giraffe to look at the work of a fellow candidate, hooligans
gaining entry into the examination hall by force when examination is in progress,
to remove question paper, talking, dictation of answers to students, e.t.c.
The
over-dependence on certificate, if care is
not taken would create a situation where educational products in Nigeria are
not able to perform what is expected of them. Poor economy, with low income to meet
the ever growing human wants, could be
a factor where teachers and supervisors engage in examination malpractice. According to Olushola, (2006),
examination malpractices could be encouraged as a result of:
1)
The desire to pass at all cost: Paul (2012) agreed on the fact that students
nowadays are no longer hard working and dedicated towards their academic
endeavours. They are characterized by a desire for success and wealth without a
corresponding emphasis on legitimate means and avenues to be used positively in
achieving Success. The desire to pass at all cost is responsible for
examination malpractices.
2) Emphasis
on certificate: Nigeria’s education system is largely certificate and good
grades oriented. Students, Parents, School management and others tend to push
harder to get the certificate and good grades by all means. Believing that this
will foster the means to acquire a lucrative job in future.As a result, much
value and emphasis are placed on certificate instead of knowledge, skills and
competence.
3) Societal
factor: Itedjere (2006) sees it from the moral tone of the society: that it is
a statement of truth that the school, like any other social institution, does
not exist in a vacuum but rather within a geopolitical and socio-milieu. Hence,
behaviours are expected to conform and reflect the acceptable societal norms
and ethics and regard various functional roles and the executions of duties and
services.
Also, Okafor (1990)
blamed the society for examination malpractices. He said: in a country where
dishonesty has been enshrined by the adult sector as an idol of worship.
Children have learnt to steal with impunity, practice examination malpractices
(in all shades and forms) as a simple reflection of the society.
4) The
Teacher: The teacher is the main focus of change and the anchor in the
teaching-learning process. Paul (2012) opined that teachers are like parents to
children while they are in schools. They are to students like a shepherd to
cows.
Statement of the Problem
Examination
malpractice is one of the social problems that is disturbing the Nigerian education
sector and it requires a prompt remedy. Examination malpractice occurs in all
levels of the Nigerian educational sector but the
focus of this study is the public senior secondary education level. A
lot of failures and anomalies happen in the careers of individuals because of
the impact of the scourge of examination malpractice at this crucial level of education.
The more the government, principals, examination bodies and other well-meaning individuals
try to find solutions to the problem, the more the perpetrators also device
ways to frustrate suchefforts. The problem is becoming more scientific by the
day; it is metamorphosing fromthe era of candidates copying from fellow
candidates to using sophisticated electronic gadgets such as cellphones and concealed
earpieces.
The problem of examination
malpractice has reduced certificates issued in Nigeria into a worthless paper,
such that a number of candidates without standing results cannot defend their certificates. The performances of
such candidates might not commensurate to the quality of their certificates.
The problem of the study therefore is to find out the innovative strategies for
public senior secondary students
academic performance in Ilorin West Local Government Area, Kwara State Nigeria.
Purpose of the Study
The main
purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of examination
malpractice strategies on student academic performance in Senior Public
Secondary Schools Ilorin West Local Government.
Specifically, the purposes are to:
i.
Examine the factor
responsible for examination malpractices among senior secondary school
students;
ii.
Investigate forms of
examinationmalpractices common among senior secondary school student;
iii.
Find out the effect
ofexaminationmalpractices on senior secondary school student academic
performance;
iv.
Suggest the various
strategies to effectively curb examination malpractices in senior secondary
schools;
Research Questions
The following research questions were formulated to guide
the study:
1.
What are the factors responsible for
examination malpractices among Senior Secondary Schools student in Ilorin West
Local Government Area of Kwara State?
2.
What forms of examination malpractices are
common among Senior Secondary Schools students in Ilorin West Local Government
Area of Kwara State?
3.
What are the effects of examination
malpractices on Senior Secondary Schools students’ academic performance in Ilorin
West Local Government Area of Kwara State?
Research Hypotheses
The following were formulated to
guide the conduct of this research work;
HO1: There is no significant difference in the
perception of male and female students on factors responsible for examination
malpractice in Senior Secondary School in Ilorin West Local Government.
HO2: There is no significant difference in the
mean response scores of male and female students on the forms of examination
malpractice in Senior Secondary School in Ilorin West Local Government.
Significance of the Study
The
findings of the study would be very useful to the following stakeholders:
students, teachers, parents, ministries of education, examination bodies and
employers of labour.
All
students/researchers, who are carrying out researches on examination
malpractices and other related topics, will find findings of the study useful.
Thestudy provides useful information for the review of related literature on
the causes, types, methods, reasons for examination malpractice, the various
availablemeasuresputinplaceforstudent academic performance inNigeria.
Findings of the study will
aid the students / researchers to have knowledge of the work that has been done
by the current researcher on student academic performance in order for them to conduct
further studies in unexplored areas.
The findings of the
study will further reveal more forms of examination malpractices, why students perpetrate
it, the various slogans student/ candidates use to identify different forms of
examination malpractices. Having the knowledge about examination malpractice provides
the teachers opportunity to device ways to
reduce the occurrence or eventually curbit.
The Federal
and State Ministries of Education being policy makers as regards education, at
the federal and state levels in Nigeria would benefit from the findings of the
study in formulating educational policies, bearing in mind, how to stem
examination malpractice which has always led to wrong decisions about the products of schools in Nigeria. The
findings of the study would be used by the federal and State Ministries of
Education as a policy to all educational institutions that are concerned with the
administration of examinations and award of certificates; to curb the menace of
examination malpractice in all examinations these bodies conduct in order to
enhance the validity and reliability of such examinations; which also concerns the
Ministry of Education.
The findings
of the study will also be useful to all
examination bodies in and outside Nigeria in the sense that it gives adequate information
on the different new tactics candidates’ device in perpetrating examination
malpractices. The knowledge of both the old and new tactics like smuggling in
of chips and using electronic gadgets respectively used in committing
examination malpractices should enable the examination bodies to come up with adequate
measures to prevent them.
The
employers of labour who are the main users of
school products will find the study very useful; as it aids them to know how to device diverse employment procedures
in order to employ the right candidate for a given vacancy in a particular
office. In this way they can separate the sheep from the goats and thus,
ensuring that round pegs are placed in round holes.
All
school administrators in the primary, senior secondary and tertiary levels will
be made to realize and nip examination malpractices in the bud. The findings of
the study should show some of the known sophisticated methods of examination
malpractices. The findings of the study would further
unfold the dangers of examination malpractices and also enable these
administrators to appreciate that, hard work alone can bring lasting success; a
philosophy that should be extended to their students.
All perpetrators
of examination malpractices are expected to find the findings of the study
useful. The study would enable them to see the
need to desist from such unhealthy act(s) and turn a new leaf; since the study
explains how examination malpractices destroy individuals and the country at
large.
Scope of the Study
The research work focuses
on the examination malpractices strategies
and students academic performance in senior secondary schools in Ilorin West
Local Government Area Kwara State. This research work covers all public senior
secondary schools in Ilorin West Local Government Area of Kwara State. However
only ten (10) senior secondary schools will be randomly selected and used as a
case study. Also, the study will be delimited to the use of well structured
questionnaire to elicit relevant information from the sample respondents while
the information gathered would be subjected both descriptive and inferential
statistics.
Operational
Definition of Term
Influence:
To
have an effect on a particular situation and the way that is develop
Malpractices:This
refers to careless, wrong or illegal behaviour during examination.
Examination:
A formal written, spoken or practical test, especially at school or college, to
see how much you know about a subject or what you can do.
Misconduct:
This refers to careless, wrong or illegal behaviour while in an examination.
Effect: This refers to the consequence or influence or exerted as a result
of examination malpractice.
Cheat: To trick or
deceive somebody, especially when they trust you.
Causes: This refers to
various factor which prompt students to in examination malpractice.
Ethics: This refers to moral
principles that control or influence a person’s behaviour.
Strategies:This
refers to various forms or techniques in which students engage in examination
malpractice.
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