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By Professor Owolabi Hakeem
Every action has a script. Every play has a script and every script is the step by step of how a plan will go.
The mess in the Nigerian education has a script like every play in a drama.
Government is in the script and it has played its part of the script well and perfect.
When schools involved in malpractices were caught and given the desired punishment as consequences of their actions. The same government goes behind to give the accused schools tips on what to do.
When schools were blacklisted by government, in no time, the school while retaining its building and address will tamper with its name and uniforms. The same government responsible for its blacklisting will waste no time to quickly give such school approval.
How will that serve a deterrent?
Examination officials, particularly external examination officials have the know how of ways to empty question papers between the custodian and schools. It is a fact that this act is a sign of distrust and disloyalty. Tampering with the examination papers before the exams is common and not a rejected act.
No wonder, candidates finish examination today, with ease and less stress effort.
Depending on the status of the examination body’s officials-some are permanent or ad-hoc; for the permanent staff of the examination body, the permanent are involved in the leaking of examination script to public.
It is in view of this that you will sparsely see candidates preparing, reading, and studying because question papers have been leaked
It is no longer a surprise nor a stunning act, to find candidates go into the hall with cell phone, copy anticipated answers on laps, inside of shirt, floor of shoes and supervisors and invigilators watch the acts unchallenged.
It is worst for the on the part of school owners and their principals, in the examination halls, right in the presence of owners, answers are on many occasions dictated to candidates, copied on boards as well and written and distributed to candidates while examination officials turned blind eye
It is a serious degeneration of values, when adults who should encourage young learners to win truthfully or be gallant in poor performance, turned out to be the promoters of an act that is not just wrong but morally messy
When you think it is the temptation of threats; you just find out that the examination officials are themselves fully prepared for the act. You can imagine officials bringing their friends and family to assist them supervise, and on some other occasions, they know ab initio they will arrive in the centre, collect money and vamoose to allow candidates and school do their wish on the questions
Just when you a thinking it is a secondary school thing, it is more and getting intense with the primary schools. Justi take time to be at the varying entrance examination for unity schools, police, command and other schools like models. It is common to hear examination supervisors asked if you have letters from any officers, political office holders or any well connected Nigerians, and it becomes a license to be placed at a ‘juicy’ corner.
You will feel terribly worried, if you have your conscience, as you watch our entrance examination primary six pupils knowing they have to be assisted to pass.
The examination to specialised institutions like police university, and others are worst off. Letters of introduction are on regular demand and they are license to be given preferential treatment.
It is bad as a stink when you experience what happens at entrance examination into our schools of nursing.
The mess is obvious, you find parents loitering around examination centres, you find them hold mouth-to-ear talk, you find them hold drag examination officials around, just because they want favour and help for their child
On examination days, it is easy to note how ubiquitous POS operators run around the examination halls.
When police arrest people found with scripts even before examination, they will end up settling, because arresting them is. personal thing and not because the nation dislikes it.
The universities, polytechnics, colleges of education and other tertiary institutions have perfected their plans for examination malpractice. With handout, threats of failure, spill over, carry over and many other year-delaying concepts, the mess continues and grows in leaps and bounds
It is the greatest challenge to our national growth. We have produced engineers, medical doctors, bankers, lawyers and a lot more others from this system of messy act.
Even after this, who is acting on it who is saying to himself or herself that we must change
It is still not late nor irredeemable. We must build a platoon of nationalists, incorrigible and passionate Nigerians to still the storm of this mess.
If education is the mother of all professions, then, it should be pregnant and be allowed to give birth to a healthy baby
Fighting the mess starts with all. Confronting the mess includes the writer, managemnt of Gongnews, government, parents, teachers, learners and law enforcement agents which must have the hands of the religious leaders too. Our judiciary must be up and doing. Those who say it is a business must be made to face the wrath of the law while not persecuting the innocent
Nigeria is all we have
