CHAPTER ONE
1.0. INTRODUCTION
Sincerely, examination malpractice is a canker
worm that has eaten deep into the nations fabrics; it has become a menace to
the Nigeria society. Presently, our educational system is in
shambles this is as a result of inconsistencies and carelessness,
non-implementation of educational policies, and corrupt practices in high
places. As it stands, perhaps, the most potent threat to our educational system
in the country is examination malpractices. This menace has enthroned itself
like a king in our various academic institutions. The climax is the constant
alarming failure rate recorded in the Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations
conducted by the West African Examinations Council and the constant graduation
of unemployable graduates from our higher institutions. The malady continues to
generate heat among concerned citizens, scholars, governments and the media.
Examination malpractices are those illegal actions taken during examination
that are against the rules of an examination. Examination malpractice in
Nigeria is in diverse dimension spanning from talking in an examination to
coming in with books or use of electronic devices like cell phones and gadgets
in communication during an examination, more alarming is the constant leaking
of examination questions before the scheduled date of the examination. Simply
put examination malpractice any form
of illegal and unauthorized assistance given to a single candidate or group of
candidates in an examination.
Examination malpractice is not a new event in Nigeria, maduemezia (2008)
reported that the first examination malpractice in Nigeria was recorded in 1914
during the senior council local examination papers which were leaked before the
scheduled date of the examination. Examination malpractice which started on a
less pronounced scale only increased geometrically afterwards. Examination
malpractice is one of those cardinal factors inhibiting or militating against
the growth of education in Nigeria. The rate at which people indulge in this
unholy act caused more harm than good in the development of education in
Nigeria. This canker worm has led to institutions producing half baked
graduates of secondary school leavers.
If
examination malpractice is tackled and defeated or better still reduced to the
barest minimum, Nigeria will become a better place where credibility and
integrity is respected.
1.1.
Background
of the study
In
Nigeria today, it is no longer news that this malady called examination mal
practice has become a monster fighting the development of education in Nigeria.
The alarming causes and effects of this menace have led us to this research
work. They’ve equally been a lot of controversies on the actual causes of
examination malpractice, most people believe government should be held
responsible while some others are of the opinion that the increasing rate of
this unholy act is entirely down to Nigerian students. There is also a major
concern of the future of our country if examination mal practice is not
defeated; would it spill over to others sectors of the economy if this malady
isn’t fought to a standstill? This is one major concern was what led us to this
research work.
1.2.
Aims
and objectives of the study
The
study is aimed at the following:
·
To find out the major
causes of examination mal practice in Nigeria.
·
To find out the major
effects of examination mal practice in Nigeria.
·
To recommend ways of
eradicating examination mal practice in Nigeria.
·
To know if there is a
statistical relationship between examination malpractice, gender and age group.
·
To educate the
general public on the causes and effects of examination malpractice.
·
To know if there is a
significant relationship between the high level of unemployment and examination
malpractice in Nigeria.
1.3.
Significance
of the study
The
importance of this study is to know the actual causes and effects of
examination malpractice in Nigeria, this would help the general public to
declare war on this malady.
A
major significance of the study is to know if examination mal practice is sex
or age based, that is, is there a significant relationship between examination
malpractice, age and sex. Are they correlated or not? Another significance of
this study is to know if there is a significant relationship between unemployment
and examination malpractice in Nigeria.
1.4.
Scope
and limitations of the study
For
the purpose of this study as the topic depicts, the scope of the study will be
focused on the statistical analysis of examination mal practice in Nigeria.
Another scope of this study is to know if a relationship exists between
unemployment in Nigeria and examination malpractice. An equally major scope of
this study is to know if examination malpractice is gender or aged based or
related. Discovering the major causes and effects of unemployment in Nigeria is
equally a scope of this study.
LIMITATIONS OF
THE STUDY
It is necessary to mention some of the limitations
of this research work. The chief limitation is the difficulty in obtaining
relevant information, some information required from respondents in
questionnaires were not given by respondents but these missing values were
not statistical significant enough to be
noticed.
Notwithstanding, in the highlighted limitation
above, it is hoped that this
research will be useful to Nigerians, organizations that may be interested in
our research.
1.5.
Definition of Terms
·
Exam: a formal written, spoken or practical test, especially at school or
college to see how much you know about a subject or what you can do.
·
Malpractice: careless, wrong or illegal behavior.
1.6.
RESEARCH
HYPOTHESES
The
research hypotheses are as follows:
HYPOTHESIS 1
H0:
there is no
significant relationship between examination malpractice and unemployment in
Nigeria.
H1: there is a significant relationship between examination
malpractice and unemployment in Nigeria.
Level of significance: 0.05
Decision rule: reject H0 if p-value is less than the level of
significance. Accept H0 if otherwise.
HYPOTHESIS 2
H0:
there is no
significant relationship between age and examination malpractice in Nigeria.
H1: there is a significant relationship between age and
examination malpractice in Nigeria.
Level of significance: 0.05
Decision rule: reject H0 if p-value is less than the level of
significance. Accept H0 if otherwise.
HYPOTHESIS 3
H0:
there is no
significant relationship between gender and examination malpractice in Nigeria.
H1: there is a significant relationship between gender and
examination malpractice in Nigeria.
Level of significance: 0.05
Decision rule: reject H0 if p-value is less than the level of
significance. Accept H0 if otherwise.