The Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) said curbing examination malpractice in Oyo State should be a joint effort.
It, however, tasked the West African Examination Council (WAEC) to block leakages from its end.
This was in reaction to the WAEC’s delisting of 50 schools in the state over examination malpractice.
The State Chairman of NUT, Mr Raji Oladimeji, said the delisting of 50 schools in Oyo State for examination malpractice was not a good decision as it affected schools not only in the state but across the federation.
He said 25 public and 25 private schools comprised the 50 schools that WAEC delisted.
Oladimeji noted that malpractice has been going on for so long, and what each school caught did was to pay the sum of N500,000 levied on it for the offence.
“But what the State Government is saying now is that enough is enough; if you allow yourself to be used in your school then you should be able to source for the payment of that N500,000 fine,” he said.
The NUT chairman noted that other factors contribute to the spate of malpractice in the state, as some parents encourage their wards and children to engage in the act.
“Above all the Chief examiner, which is WAEC cannot be exonerated from the problem and why blame our teachers, parents and others? It needs to ensure no leakages from its end,” he said.
Oladimeji stated that malpractice offenders in 2021 were punished and those involved in malpractice in 2022 would also be punished.
Also, Dr Muyiwa Bamgbose, an Educator and Chief Executive Officer of the Educational Advancement Centre, said the sanction was long overdue and needed to curb the spate of malpractice in the state.
Bamgbose said the cheating rate had been alarming, and it affected the quality of students who applied for advanced studies or sat for post-UTME.
“If they can keep this up, it would be good. Let everybody sit up because students are now preparing to cheat; they are no longer studying, and it is a very bad situation,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Oyo State Government says it will sanction Principals and Parents of recently delisted schools by the West Africa Examinations Council (WAEC) for examination malpractices in the state.
The State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Barr. Abiodun Abdu-Raheem in a statement said the state government would sanction both the principals and parents found wanting because of its zero tolerance for examination malpractice.
He also warned principals to refrain from encouraging examination malpractice, which was becoming endemic in both private and public schools in the state.
“It should be noted that the Oyo State Government has zero tolerance for examination malpractices, therefore, Principals and Teachers of both Private and Public Schools and parents were earlier warned to desist from any act of collaboration on examination malpractices as sanctions would be meted to concerned staff and parents”, he said.
Abiodun disclosed that only the West African Examination Council (WAEC) has the authority to release a list of schools identified as being involved in examination malpractices and de-recognise such schools accordingly.
He further said that derecognized schools will not be permitted to present candidates for WAEC for two years, saying “however, this does not debar students of such schools from sitting for the West African Examination Certificate (WAEC), as they are mobilised to the nearest school to write the WAEC; only the identified school is derecognized as a WAEC Centre”.
“It should be noted that the Government of Oyo State will waste no time investigating any such occurrence, while the necessary punishments as enumerated above will be meted to anyone found guilty”, he said.
The commissioner, however, advised the heads of both public and private institutions in the state to desist from any act that could ridicule their schools and portray the state’s image in a bad light.
Therefore, he enjoined the general public to note that no student in the State would be prevented from writing the WAEC in the 2022/2023 Academic Session and subsequent years.
