Kwara government declares zero tolerance for exam malpractice

Says WAEC blacklist, N30.5m fine avoidable

Kwara State Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq has threatened severe sanction on any school head or official caught abetting examination malpractice.He said such action led to the blacklist of 165 schools in the state and fine by the West African Examination Council (WAEC) last year.

The governor, in a statement made available to The Guardian yesterday by the Chief Press Secretary, Rafiu Ajakaye, described the development as the worst in the history of Kwara.He noted that the affected 122 public secondary schools and 43 private schools were each fined N250,000 by the examination body.

The examinations were held between April 8 and May 31, 2019.He stated, “This administration is sad to note that WAEC has de-recognised 165 schools in Kwara because of widespread cases of cheating in the 2019 Senior School Certificate Examination (SSCE), in which some top education officials and parents were implicated. This is very unfortunate and this administration will not hesitate to sanction any school head or official that ever engages in such conduct in the future.” The administration also urged parents to desist from encouraging cheating in examinations and other life’s endeavour.

“We call on Kwarans to expose this cancer. As a result of such incidents of aiding and abetting of examination malpractices, this administration will now have to pay N30.5 million of scarce public resources to get the necessary approval for the affected public schools to host WAEC examinations in the future.

“This is avoidable. Examination malpractice constitutes some of the worst hindrances to a bright future because it negates the time-tested principles of hard work, diligence and thirst for knowledge and excellence,” he added.The statement asserted that such unhealthy trend and other shortcomings in the sector explained why the government was organising an education summit this quarter to discuss the issues affecting the sector and come up with practicable roadmap and reform options.