The National Examinations Council (NECO) has expressed its readiness to totally root out incidents of exam malpractice in all its examinations.
Registrar /Chief Executive of NECO, Prof Ibrahim Wushishi, called for concerted efforts to address the problem.
He spoke at a one-day sensitisation workshop on examination malpractice, on Monday in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State.
Speaking on the theme of the workshop “The role of education stakeholders in tackling examination malpractices in Nigeria” Wushishi said there was an urgent need to curtail the problem to ensure all-round development of the country.
In a statement in Abuja, the NECO boss said: “One of the biggest challenges bedeviling the conduct of public examinations now is the issue of examination malpractice.
“This workshop is therefore both thoughtful and timely, and should address the ways and means that can be adopted to curb the menace and re-orient the minds of the youths concerning this cankerworm, as no nation develops when its youths indulge in sharp practices such as examination malpractice.
“No doubt, examination malpractice has the tendency to discourage hard work among serious students, lower educational standards, discredit certificates, and lead to the production of quacks, thereby affecting the manpower needs of the nation.
“We must therefore take collective responsibility to rid them of this bad habit of wanting to cut corners.”
The NECO boss said the Council has rolled out several measures to check the problem of malpractice in the conduct of all its examinations.
He listed the measures to include; effective conduct of accreditation and re-accreditation exercise in schools, biometric data capturing of candidates to check impersonation of candidates registered for examination and to help identify miracle centres where examination malpractice are perpetrated.
