CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Inside the school hall in a typical Nigeria examination center, young men and women are seated with rest attention as they listen to a middle aged, well built man, clutching folder containing some sheets of papers. He is surrounded by other ladies and gentlemen who apparently are waiting for the man to give the go ahead to start the distribution of examination question papers and answer booklets. He clears his throat and pointing his fingers to nobody in particular as if sounding a warning to a recalcitrant child who refused to heed to his mother’s scolding “if you like go ahead and cheat in this examination misconduct will face twenty one years imprisonment”

This is the kind of ceremony that usually precedes examination examinations. Examination officials, invigilators school authorities as the case may be warn the candidates against examination misconduct.

Examination misconduct in Nigeria has attained a frightening proportion. It is sophisticated and institutionalized. Efforts by government administration and state-holders in the education sector to curtail the ugly trend have not yielded any fruit.

One of the peremial and most devastating problems militating against the educational system in Nigeria today is examination misconduct.

This phenomenon has been described in Denga and Denga (1998:3) as one of the cardinal forms of educational misconduct. The authors further termed it as an ugly canker and octopus that is rapidly assuming the status of a social, moral and educational epidemic in Nigeria.

According to them examination misconduct has become so internalized and legitimized among students that most of them regards it as a normal process of passing examination, without regards to its associated consequences on the nation’s development.

It is saddening by examination to note that examination bodies government functionaries; school authorities, invigilators, parents and students all participate in an unfair examination. The intractable nature of examination misconduct has resulted in high turn over of half-baked graduates by institution of higher learning, Eromosele (2005) since they cannot meet up with the requirement of the society by passing the aptitude test given to them in any inter-view.

Examination misconduct has long graduated from the normal grafting at neighbor’s work, using key points notes or textbooks or coping on sheets of paper referred to a micro-chips or coping on desk also known as desktop publishing etc to a more advanced and more organized system of buying question from examination bodies for the easy flow misconduct.

The miracle centers enjoy the patronage of corrupt school administrators and examination officials. It is incontrovertible that examination misconduct thrives in a corrupt society, which indicates that it is the reflection of the society. It is in the psyche of the people therefore it can only be tackled in the mind of the people.

Misconduct has now become widespread in most secondary school in Enugu north L.G.A. As a result of the ugly development in the educational sector behind the administration of the examination tends to be undermined.

Furthermore, examination misconduct has degraded our certificates. Those who are not suppose to posses the certificate are holders of such certificates. The resultant effect of confidently meet up with the rigors involved in the job s they were employed to do.

The overall consequent of this abnormally in our education sector brings about the fall in standard of education as it is witnessed today. In turn it leads to other levels of corruption in the society and the effect is out right reduction in National product. The government, school administration and general public are worried about menace. No wonder, why it becomes important to engage in detail study of examination.