Exam Malpractice: Rescuing the Future 2

By Msonter Anzaa

“Teach him that a dollar earned is far more valued than five dollars found.”

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

When people cheat in exams and get grades they do not deserve, what effects does it have on the society? One, it makes rubbish of our values as a people. What do we value; self-deception? The irony with exam malpractice is that the beneficiary knows he is far less worthy than what he claims to be. In reality therefore, he is a fake individual; a ghost living outside of his real self, and carrying forth a different personality. It would be easy for the WAEC to simply get a pen and write ‘distinction’ against all our courses and stamp with their seal and give us as our results. Would it not be a nice thing if everyone you meet on the street had straight distinctions in his courses in school? Why do we not do it like that? Is it because we want the real truth? If that’s why, then it is also why we must not tolerate exam malpractice. When we close our eyes and let people get away with grades they do not deserve, that’s what we are doing. We are simply writing ‘distinction’ against their courses even though we know they are not worthy of them. We are simply deceiving ourselves.

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 Exam malpractice encourages other forms of malpractices. Is there any doubt that in Nigeria today, we lament the prevalence of electoral malpractice and corruption? We can point to our local government chairmen and state governors who didn’t actually win their elections. In fact, in the last national population census, it emerged that some individuals actually rigged the census! They simply looked left and right when no one was looking and assigned artificial population figures to their villages, local governments or even states. People who indulge in exam malpractice believe it is the best way to do anything. It will cost them nothing and yet they will get something. They transfer their malpractice skills to wherever they find themselves. Woe to the society that has them in positions of authority. It would be better for that society if a large millstone was tied round its neck and it was thrown into River Benue. In fact, the malpractice sense is responsible for incurable corruption and much of the trouble we have with the use or abuse of public power or office.

Exam malpractice also under-develops the society. We end up writing certificates for people who have no use to themselves or the society. Instead, they become a burden on the society. We must get a way of paying them even though they are not employable. We must continue to suffer the consequences of mismanagement because they have infiltrated management positions and contaminated them with the virus of inefficiency. We produce engineers, doctors, architects and many other professionals, yet, we must run to China to hire construction companies. We must go to Germany to have surgery. When we try to engage them, they construct for us buildings that collapse even before full construction! Some of these happenings are consequences of exam malpractice, or broadly put, decayed educational and moral values.

As if the above consequences are not enough, exam malpractice destroys our reputation and makes it difficult for the few honest ones to be appreciated. International organizations soon learn that if a certificate comes from Nigeria, it is not important what grade it carries; it is useless. Then you struggle under the light of a kerosene lamp to get an honest grade. You go out there; someone gives just one look at the certificate and dismisses you with a wave of the hand. He knows Nigeria too well to be fooled.

To be continued

 Read also Exam Malpractice: Rescuing the Future 1

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               What Manner of Education? 2

              What Manner of Education? 3