The House of Representatives has proposed a five-year jail term or N500,000 fine or both for any person convicted of leaking examination questions as well as three-year jail term for persons under 18 years convicted of engaging in examination malpractices.

The proposed legislation entitled: ?Examination Malpractices Act (Repeal and Enactment) Bill, 2025(HB2097) and sponsored by the member representing Oredo Federal Constituency, Esosa Iyawe, was introduced on March 6 and is awaiting second reading.

The bill, according to its explanatory memorandum, is seeking to repeal ?the Examination Malpractice Act Cap. E15, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 and enact the Examination Malpractices Act 2025 to provide for non-custodial penalties, expand offences relating to the examination malpractices and prescribe adequate punishment for such offences.? It further states that minors convicted under the proposed law shall be treated in accordance with the Child Rights Act.

The bill states that any person who procures any question paper intended for use in any examination in the country, whether or not the question is genuine and any person who uses a technological device at any examination, is guilty of an offence and shall on conviction be liable to a fine of N500,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or both for a person under the age of 18 years.

While in the case of a principal, teacher, an invigilator, a supervisor, an examiner, agent or employee of the examination body concerned with the conduct of an examination, the offence shall attract a four-year jail term, without an option of fine.

Also, the parliament is proposing a N400,000 or four years imprisonment or both for any person engaged to mark examination papers, ?who, without lawful excuse, alters or otherwise tampers or attempts to alter or tamper with the scores of a candidate as recorded by another person; or (b) employed by an examination body, who before, during or after an examination, fraudulently or without lawful authority, alters or otherwise tampers with the scores of a candidate or aids or abets any candidate to cheat at an examination.?

Similarly, Section 4 of the proposed legislation stipulates that, ?A candidate, who at any examination, by any fraudulent trick or device or with intent to cheat or secure an unfair advantage for himself or any other person, steals or otherwise appropriates or takes a question paper, an answer sheet or a script of any other candidate, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of N500,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or both.?

Also, the bill states that any person, who impersonates a candidate in an examination shall on conviction be liable to a fine of N500,000 or imprisonment for a term not more than three years or both, in the case of a person under 18 years old, while in the case of a principal, teacher, an invigilator, a supervisor, an examiner, an agent or employee of the examination body concerned with the conduct of an examination, to imprisonment for a term of four years without the option of a fine.

According to Section 6(1) of the proposed law, ?A candidate at an examination, who leaves the venue of the examination and mixes up with any other person with intent to cheat or secure any unfair advantage for himself or any other person in the examination, commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine of at least N300,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding three years or both, and in addition, the candidate shall not be allowed to re-enter the examination hall or any other place to continue with that examination.

Section 6(2) and (3) provides that ?A person who (a) without lawful excuse, with intent to aid a candidate to cheat or secure any unfair advantage for himself or any other person at the examination, communicates or attempts to communicate to the candidate any information relating to any question paper in the examination; or (b) not being involved in the conduct of the examination, is found in or near the examination hall or any other place appointed for the examination with intent to aid a candidate to cheat or secure an unfair advantage for a candidate at the examination, commits an offence.

?A person guilty of an offence under sub-clause (2) of this section is liable on conviction (a) in the case of a person under the age of 18 years, to a fine of N500,000 or imprisonment for a term of not more than three years or to both; (b) in the case of a principal, teacher, an invigilator, a supervisor, an examiner, or an agent or employee of the examination body concerned with the conduct of an examination, to imprisonment for a term of four years without the option of a fine.? (Daily Sun)

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