Some stakeholders in Anambra, Ebonyi and Enugu States say that reforms embarked upon by the three state governments were helping to curtail the activities of “miracle centres” used for examination malpractice in Senior Secondary Schools.

They said examination malpractice had no place in the states following the educational reforms, policies and programmes introduced to improve teaching and learning and restore discipline in the education sector.

The stakeholders stated this in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) while responding to a survey on the continued existence of miracle centres and measures to curb examination malpractice.

According to them, students can now write West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) examinations without any external assistance.

They described examination malpractice as a dangerous menace that had eaten deep into the nation’s educational system, while others blamed parents, teachers and school administrators for contributing to the problem.

In Enugu State, the Executive Chairman of the Enugu State Post Primary Schools Management Board (PPSMB), Rev. Fr. Hilary Mgbodile, said the state’s approach to tackling examination malpractice was part of a broader educational reform.

He said one of the major strategies adopted to curb malpractice was to stop the migration of students from their schools to established miracle centres.

“To stop this migration, we capture the class list from SS2 and do class-list verification to make sure you must write your examination where you did your SS2,” he said.

He explained that the measure had made it difficult for lesson centres and other institutions allegedly involved in examination malpractice to register students from other schools for external examinations.

Mgbodile said the state had also introduced external examination monitors to oversee examinations and ensure that invigilators and monitors were not compromised.

He said monitors were provided with food, water and other necessities to eliminate the temptation of accepting inducements from examination centres.

According to him, the state’s external examination screening committee also scrutinises candidates before they are registered for external examinations.

He said schools could no longer simply approach examination bodies to register candidates without obtaining approved lists from the Ministry of Education and the external examination screening committee.

“Any external candidate, you are not just expunging, you will expunge with a fine to the ministry,” he said, adding that the measures had made migration of candidates to so-called “greener pastures” or miracle centres increasingly difficult.

A school administrator, Mr Ben Edeh, however, advocated greater use of Computer-Based Tests (CBT) as a means of further reducing examination malpractice.

Edeh said the introduction of CBT for examinations such as the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) examination had significantly reduced malpractice compared with the situation in the past.

He said the success recorded with JAMB showed that extending CBT to WASSCE, NECO and other major examinations could help eliminate or significantly reduce miracle centres.

Edeh said the continued existence of miracle centres in both urban and rural areas remained a concern, noting that CBT would make it more difficult for candidates to rely on outside assistance during examinations.

He said students would be compelled to prepare adequately because their performance would largely depend on their individual knowledge and ability.

A teacher, Mrs Ukamaka Okoro, attributed students’ resort to miracle centres partly to inadequate teaching and learning materials in some schools.

Okoro said some students who had spent considerable amounts of money on their education were sometimes unwilling to risk failing examinations, particularly when they believed that their schools had not adequately prepared them.

She also expressed concern over the alleged involvement of some teachers and the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in facilitating examination malpractice.

She, however, said the introduction of CBT could help minimise the problem.

In Anambra, the State Commissioner for Education, Dr Ekene Ogugua, said he had addressed principals and operators of public and private secondary schools on the need to enforce discipline and uphold examination standards.

Ogugua said he also paid unscheduled monitoring visit to some schools to assess compliance with examination guidelines during the just concluded NECO examinations.

He said the monitoring exercise formed part of the state government’s strategy to strengthen accountability in schools and preserve the credibility of public examinations.

“Gov. Chukwuma Soludo’s administration is determined to eliminate practices that turn public or private schools into “miracle centres” where candidates engage in examination malpractice.

“We reminded school managers that they are the face of government in their respective schools and should demonstrate exemplary leadership, discipline and integrity.

“They are the chief security and accounting officers of their respective schools and should take responsibility for maintaining discipline and examination standards.

“Whoever cannot align with the vision of this administration will be relieved of their duties,” he said.

Ogugua urged school authorities to maintain a conducive examination environment and ensure strict compliance with examination rules.

“We will not allow our public schools to be turned into miracle centres. That orientation does not go well for the future of our children,” he said.

He added that the Ministry of Education would sustain unscheduled monitoring of schools during both internal and external examinations to safeguard the integrity of the state’s education system.

Also speaking, Mrs Hope Ezeani, Chairperson, All Nigeria Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools (ANCOPSS), Anambra Chapter, pledged the support of principals for the Soludo administration’s vision of transforming the state’s education sector.

Ezeani, who is also the Principal of Community Secondary School, Oraifite, said principals were committed to ending examination malpractice and ensuring that students obtained results through genuine academic efforts.

The Executive Secretary, Anambra State Post-Primary Schools Service Commission (PPSPSC), Mr Benedine Anagor, said there had been no reported case of “miracle centres” or withheld WAEC and NECO results in public schools in the state.

Anagor also expressed support for the state government’s position on maintaining discipline and upholding examination integrity in schools.

He said school administrators had a major responsibility to ensure strict compliance with examination guidelines and to prevent any form of malpractice during examinations.

Meanwhile, some teachers in Anambra have called for stronger sanctions, sustained monitoring and greater involvement of parents and school authorities to end the operation of “miracle centres” and examination malpractice in the state.

A maths teacher, Mrs Prisca Chimezie, described “miracle centres” as schools or examination venues where candidates were allegedly assisted to cheat or obtain examination results through fraudulent means.

Chimezie said the practice undermined genuine academic achievement, placed hardworking students at a disadvantage and eroded confidence in the education system.

She attributed the persistence of examination malpractice to pressure from parents and candidates to desperation to secure high grades at all costs.

She said some parents became desperate when their children performed poorly academically and subsequently looked for schools or examination centres where they believed the candidates could obtain results through malpractice.

“Some parents are more concerned about certificates than the knowledge their children acquire.

“This trend is having serious negative effects on the younger students coming behind them.

“Some students are beginning to lose interest in studying because they see others getting excellent examination results without putting in the necessary effort,” she said.

Another teacher, Mr Ikenna Agwasie, said some candidates also contributed to the problem by refusing to prepare adequately for examinations.

Agwasie said some students developed the mentality that examination malpractice was an easier alternative to studying.

He however, urged school authorities to discourage such attitudes through continuous counselling and academic support.

Miss Imelda Okeke, a teacher in a public secondary school, said the fight against examination malpractice should not be restricted to examination periods.

She advocated regular monitoring of schools and strict supervision of teachers and invigilators.

“If monitoring is only done when examinations are taking place, those planning malpractice may find ways around the system.

“There should be regular checks and anyone caught aiding malpractice should face appropriate sanctions,” she said.

Okeke also advocated stronger guidance and counselling programmes in schools to educate students on the consequences of examination malpractice.

Mr Simon Onyekachi, the Chairman, All Nigeria Confederation of Principals of Secondary school (ANCOPSS) in Nsukka Local Government Area noted that leakage of examination question papers was one of the reasons why miracle examination centres thrived.

Onyekachi said that one of the ways to stop and frustrate examination miracle centres in the country was to ensure that WAEC and NECO examination question papers did not leak before the examination.

“Miracle centres thrive because the operators of the centres pay huge amount of money to insiders in WAEC and NECO or examination supervisors and invigilators to leak examination questions to them.

“We all know that examination paper leak or expo is about unauthorised disclosure or distribution of exam question papers before the scheduled exam time,” he said.

The ANCOPSS Chairman noted that only lazy students who could not read their books to pass examination that patronised miracle centres.

“Products of miracle centres who make unmerited good WAEC and NECO results expose themselves in higher institutions or places of employment where they cannot defend their good results.

“Government can clampdown on miracle centres by withdrawing licence of any school involved in the crime as well as prosecuting principals and officials of WAEC and NECO found guilty,” he said.

Speaking, Mrs Ann Ugwu, former Supervisor of Education in Nsukka LG, said miracle centres was unfair advantage to hardworking students because students in miracle centres got their good result through foul means.

“Miracle centres encourage corruption as principals, supervisors and invigilators get paid for engaging in malpractice, this action breeds a culture of cheating.

“This evil called miracle centres affect the country as sometimes, we end up producing doctors, engineers, teachers among others who passed through malpractice but lack real skills,” she said.

Ugwu urged WAEC and NECO to expedite actions in using Computer Based Test (CBT) in conducting Senior Secondary School final examination to end the cankerworm called miracle centres.

The former Supervisor of Education however, blamed some parents who encouraged their children and wards to register WAEC and NECO in miracle centres instead of advising them to read their books to pass exams.

“The official WAEC and NECO registration fees are N27,000 and N30,000 respectively but in these miracle centres, their registration is as high as N100,000 and N120,000 for each exam.

“Is it not parents that provide their children with this huge amount of money to register in miracle centres so that they will be given “expo” to pass very well?” she asked

The Secretary, Ebonyi Universal Basic Education Board, Dr Livinus Ezeuwa, called for collective action in tackling examination malpractice in Nigeria.

Ezeuwa described examination malpractice as a social cankerworm that the government, parents, education stakeholders, school administrators must come together to fight.

The secretary said that such miracle centres were mostly found in private schools especially in rural areas.

He identified examination malpractice as one of the major problems that had gone deep such that fighting it could not be spontaneous.

“If concrete steps are not taken, many who claim to be school leavers will leave the school and the school will not pass through them,” he stated.

Ezeuwa asserted that the use of CBT could not address examination malpractice if drastic actions were not taken in the fight against the menace.

Also, the Area Inspector of Education (AIE) Ikwo Local Government Area, Mr Sunday Nweke, attributed examination malpractice to poor reading culture and lack of value system in the country.

He stressed the need for Nigerians to accord respect to knowledge and prioritise education in their scheme of development.

The education inspector called for stronger collaboration among government, school administrators, teachers, parents and students in tackling the menace. (NAN)