WAEC warns principals, supervisors against exam malpractice in Rivers

Tina Amanda

West African Examination Council (WAEC) has warned Principals and Supervisors against involvement in any form of examination malpractices.

The Zonal Coordinator WAEC Rivers State, Suleiman Kum, who stated this while briefing principals and supervisors in Port Harcourt, on the rules guiding the conduct of the WASSCE 2022 examination slated to commence on Monday 16 May 2022, said no school or invigilator will be spared if caught in examination malpractice.

Kum said the aim of the briefing is to ensure the smooth conduct of the WASSCE 2022 examination in Rivers State.

According to him, about thirty-five (35) schools were derecognised last year during the 2021 WASSCE examination for committing malpractice, as it was discovered that over fifty per cent of the school candidates who wrote the examination copied each other.

Kum, however, urged principals to do their work relating to the conduct of WASSCE 2022 under the rules and regulations that govern the conduct of the exam, adding that any School or supervisor caught in exam crime risks being blacklisted.

He said that there are eight hundred and ninty-one (891) schools registered for the WASSCE examination in the State while commending the Rivers State government for paying registration fees for all the WAEC candidates in public schools.

“The Governor of Rivers State, the Commissioner of Education and even WAEC we frown at exam malpractice, you discover that any supervisor that was caught was blacklisted, it means you will never conduct our exams again. If you remember quite a lot of principals whose schools were involved in exam malpractice were demoted.

“That is to show you the commitment the state government have for anybody involved in exam malpractice, so they should allow the students to write their exams without aiding them in any way.

“We intend to achieve smooth conduct of exams in Rivers State because we are meeting with the principals and supervisors, the advice given to them helps them in supporting the conduct of these exams. We have eight hundred and ninty-one schools that are registered for the exam.

“We are ready for the conduct of the exam, you see our joy is that His Excellency Governor Nyesom Wike has paid the registration fees for all the students that registered in public schools.

“I want to assure the general public and the stakeholders that these exams will be conducted in a good atmosphere because we are all going to monitor the conduct in every school”

Kum urged all school principals to complete all the registration processes of their students before 30 May 2022, while calling on them to provide adequate security in their schools for students writing the examination.

He further said that it is mandatory for principals to be around during the conduct of the WASSCE examination as it will be wrong to leave the candidates writing the exams to only supervisors and teachers.

Also, the representative of All Nigeria Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools in Rivers State who is the Principal Government Girls Secondary School Rumuokwuta, Silverline Ogbuzuo, said examination malpractice will stop when Principals, supervisors and teachers desist from aiding, encouraging and assisting students to get involved in malpractice during exam’s, adding that the meeting is necessary.

“Well, I think it is necessary because every time we go to Church is not that we don’t know what is in the bible, but because we are supposed to be reminded of the word of God, just as WAEC is supposed to remind us what is on the ground. If there are updates they are supposed to come with updates as they have done.

“We know that sometime late last year some schools were derecognised which in a long while has not happened. WAEC has been warning and warning, but this time around they took action. So it’s necessary to sensitize other schools so they do not fall victim to such problems.

“They should not assist these children unnecessarily if a child comes into exam hall the child should write what he or she have taught for the past six years and they should be properly taught and guided, that way they will write their exams”.