The governments of Anambra, Enugu and Ebonyi States have intensified efforts to tackle examination malpractice and the activities of so-called “miracle centres” ahead of major secondary school examinations.
Education stakeholders across the three South-East states say ongoing reforms, stricter monitoring and tighter registration procedures are making it increasingly difficult for candidates to rely on external assistance to obtain examination results.
They spoke in separate interviews while assessing measures being adopted to curb examination malpractice in the region.
In Enugu State, the Executive Chairman of the Post Primary Schools Management Board, Hilary Mgbodile, said the state had introduced measures aimed at preventing students from moving between schools and examination centres in search of easier opportunities to cheat.
He said the state now captures students’ class lists from Senior Secondary School Two and verifies them to ensure that candidates sit their external examinations in the schools where they completed SS2.
According to him, the measure has made it more difficult for lesson centres and other establishments allegedly involved in examination malpractice to register candidates from other schools.
The state has also introduced external examination monitors, while an examination screening committee scrutinises candidates before they are registered for external examinations.
Mgbodile said the government had also taken steps to prevent the compromise of examination monitors and invigilators, stressing that schools could no longer independently register candidates for external examinations without approval from the relevant authorities.
A school administrator, Ben Edeh, advocated the wider adoption of computer-based testing for major examinations, arguing that the success recorded with CBT in the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board examination could be replicated in WAEC and NECO.
He said CBT would make it more difficult for candidates to depend on outside assistance and encourage students to prepare adequately for examinations.
In Anambra State, the Commissioner for Education, Ekene Ogugua, said the state government was determined to prevent public and private schools from becoming examination malpractice centres.
Ogugua said the ministry had intensified monitoring of schools, including unscheduled visits during the recently concluded NECO examinations, to assess compliance with examination guidelines.
He warned school managers that they would be held responsible for maintaining discipline and examination standards in their institutions.
The commissioner said the state would continue unscheduled monitoring during internal and external examinations to protect the credibility of the education system.
The Chairperson of the All Nigeria Confederation of Principals of Secondary Schools, ANCOPSS, Anambra chapter, Hope Ezeani, pledged the support of school principals for the state government’s campaign against examination malpractice.
Similarly, the Executive Secretary of the Anambra State Post-Primary Schools Service Commission, Benedine Anagor, said there had been no reported case of miracle centres or withheld WAEC and NECO results in public schools in the state.
However, teachers in the state called for stronger sanctions, sustained monitoring and greater involvement of parents in the fight against examination malpractice.
They identified parental pressure, inadequate preparation, poor reading culture and the desperation for high grades as some of the factors encouraging students to patronise miracle centres.
In Ebonyi State, the Secretary of the Ebonyi Universal Basic Education Board, Livinus Ezeuwa, described examination malpractice as a major social problem requiring collective action by government, parents, teachers and school administrators.
He said miracle centres were particularly prevalent in some private schools, including those in rural areas, and warned that the consequences could extend beyond the classroom.
Stakeholders also raised concerns about examination question-paper leakage, with the Chairman of ANCOPSS in Nsukka Local Government Area, Simon Onyekachi, calling for tighter security around WAEC and NECO examination materials.
Onyekachi argued that preventing question-paper leakage would significantly weaken the activities of miracle centres, while officials found guilty of facilitating malpractice should face prosecution.
A former education supervisor in Nsukka, Ann Ugwu, described miracle centres as harmful to the education system, warning that they could produce graduates with impressive certificates but inadequate knowledge and skills.
She called for faster adoption of computer-based examinations by WAEC and NECO, alongside stronger sanctions against schools and individuals involved in malpractice.
Ugwu also appealed to parents to discourage their children from patronising miracle centres, noting that some candidates and their families spend significantly more money seeking examination assistance than they would on legitimate academic preparation.
Across the three states, education stakeholders agreed that tackling examination malpractice would require sustained monitoring, improved teaching and learning, stronger guidance and counselling, parental involvement and strict punishment for individuals and institutions found culpable.
They also stressed that the fight against miracle centres must continue beyond examination periods if the integrity of the region’s education system is to be preserved.
