The House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education Examination Bodies has thrown its weight behind efforts by the National Examination Council (NECO), the West African Examination Council (WAEC), the National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB), and other examination bodies to tackle the menace of exam malpractice in the country.

Members of the committee, chaired by Mr. Oboku Oforji (PDP, Bayelsa), shared their minds on the issue on Tuesday when they toured some schools in Abuja on an oversight of the conduct of examinations by NECO.

The schools toured by the committee include Federal Government Boys College, Apo, and Model Secondary School, Maitama, Abuja.

Addressing journalists during the tour, Oforji said, the tour was part of the Constitutional responsibilities of the National Assembly being carried out through the committee.

He said, “We are here to see what NECO is doing. The National Examination Council is very important to us. This is our own. Yes, WAEC is also our own, but you know WAEC is the West African Examination Council. We are very proud of what NECO is doing today under the leadership of Professor Ibrahim Wushishi.

“We are proud of what they are doing because we are here to see what NECO is doing. We are here to hear those serious issues of examination malpractice. We pray that they sustain the tempo. We have gone around the school and observed the student commitment. We are very, very proud of them. We are very hopeful that they will sustain that momentum so that we can have a better tomorrow.

“You saw the master sheets, the validation documents that were brought. They all had passport photographs of the various candidates. And this was used to validate who writes the exams. Without this, they wouldn’t be allowed to enter the Hall, and then you also saw the supervisor validating attendance and taking some records.

“What we have observed today, if this tempo is sustained, we are going to have a better tomorrow. We are very sure of our country. We want to have the betterment of our country. And with what is going on, we are very poised and very confident that tomorrow will be better than today. So it is a good one. We want them to show more resilience.

“For us in the parliament, we believe that the ongoing reforms are going to add more value to the educational sector, not just NECO, but all the other examination bodies. And we believe that, based on what we have seen today, we’ll have a better educational system.

We are ready to collaborate with WAEC, NECO, JAMB, NABTEB, and other examination bodies to improve the standard of education in our country.

“We are very, very confident that we’ll achieve that feat. And that is why you are seeing us here carrying out this oversight at this very time. So be assured that the National Assembly is up and doing, and we’re going to get it done. It’s a good result for Nigeria, by the special grace of God.”