A pressure group, Exam Ethics Marshals International, has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to focus his anti-corruption war on the education sector, noting that examination malpractices have become an organised crime in the country.
The group also proposed an eight-point programme of action to kick-start the agenda.
In a statement signed by its founding chairman, Ike Onyechere, the group alleged that corruption in the educations sector is being perpetuated by government officials in the ministries and examination councils.
“Examination malpractice has metamorphosed into organised criminal activity like drug and human trafficking, kidnapping, advanced fee scams. It is now a criminal enterprise controlled by criminal syndicates, with links and members embedded in education ministries, agencies, boards and institutions; as well as in examination councils,” he said.
While also noting that examination syndicates is a multi-billion naira industry, the pressure group insisted that lack of political will to prosecute indicted officials has made examination malpractices attractive and risk-free.
“The street value of organised exam fraud operated by syndicates is estimated to be in excess of N100bn per year. In Nigeria, exam fraud syndicates operate with extreme impunity because it is risk-free on account of lack of political will to implement sanctions and because almost all categories of stakeholders, including some political leaders, are members of exam fraud syndicates.
“In 2007, the Ministry of Education released a blacklist of 324 schools operating as Magic Centres. Among the schools blacklisted are those operated by faith-based organisations, state government, private proprietors and law enforcement agencies.
“The ministry also released a blacklist of 232 individuals removed as examiners, supervisors and invigilators of public examinations for aiding and abetting malpractices. Among them are officials of federal and state ministries of education. They were supposed to suffer administrative and other sanctions, but nothing happened after the names were advertised in national newspapers,” he added.
Among other measures, the group canvassed that the Buhari administration should re-launch the examination malpractice initiative to name and shame invigilators, supervisors and schools involved in examination malpractice; revalidation of the educational qualification of all workers in the education ministries, agencies and institutions; direct examination bodies to publish names of candidates barred from taking examinations, as well as other measures in the tertiary education sub-sector.
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Buhari told to wage anti-graft war in education sector
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