WAEC: Principals Facilitates Examination Malpractice

The West African Examinations Council has said that there is an upsurge in examination malpractice because some principals are under pressure to increase the performance of their pupils in external examinations.

The examination body, therefore, called on the All Nigerian Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools, to “act as a whistleblower to the council by reporting acts of examination malpractice during the WASSCE.’’

It also said that examination centers caught engaging in examination malpractice would be delisted, while candidates would be barred from sitting for WASSCE for an unspecified number of years.

This was contained in a communiqué issued by the Nigeria Examination’s Committee of the council at the end of its 63rd meeting recently.

The NEC is the highest decision-making organ of WAEC on examination-related matters in Nigeria. The communiqué was signed by the Head of Public Affairs, WAEC, Mr. Demianus Ojijeogu.

It read in part, “The committee approved that the entire results of candidates involved in proven cases of exam malpractice, which attracted the cancellation of the entire results be cancelled while the subject results of those involved in proven cases, which attracted cancellation of subject results, be similarly cancelled.

In addition, some candidates will also suffer other sanctions, such as barring them from sitting for the council’s examination for a certain number of years, while some examination centres will be delisted.”

The NEC also commended the Benue State Government for issuing queries to principals indicted for aiding and abetting examination malpractice, adding that other state governments, “should set up machinery to sanction erring supervisors and invigilators to serve as deterrent to others.”

The committee called on government and all stakeholders to intensify the fight against exam malpractice by sanctioning reported erring supervisors and invigilators