COMMUNIQUE ISSUED AT THE END OF A RADIO TOWN HALL MEETING AGAINST CORRUPTION, ORGANISED BY THE PROGRESSIVE IMPACT ORGANIZATION FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT (PRIMORG).

BACKGROUND TO DELIBERATIONS

The Progressive Impact Organization for Community Development (PRIMORG) with support from the MacArthur Foundation held a town hall meeting against corruption on February 26th, 2021. The theme of the town hall meeting was; ELIMINATING EXAMINATION MALPRACTICES, SPECIAL CENTRES, AND OTHER FORMS OF CORRUPTION IN NIGERIAN SCHOOLS.

The meeting was aimed at discouraging the flourishing business of special centres across Nigeria, deter citizens from patronizing special centres, as well as draw the government’s attention to the evils of coordinated exam fraud by its officials.

Participants and speakers at the meeting highlighted the dangers of the falling standard of education in Nigeria occasioned by corruption as well as proffered solutions to address the deadly trend.

The participants include Vin Martin Ilo, CEO/Principal Consultant, Signature TV; Olusola Bankole, Chairperson, National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools, FCT Chapter; Dr. Segun Adelodun, Education Consultant; Wilson Agaba Wilson, Business & Education Consultant and; Francesca Edeghere, Independent Academic Education Consultant.

In the course of deliberation, participants at the town hall meeting noted the following:

– Nigeria’s education in a serious mess.

– Special exams centres are set up for business reasons than the impartation of knowledge

– Owners of special centers collude with parents and officials of the National Examination Council (NECO) to commit fraud.

– Operation of special centres for examination is prevalent in every part of Nigeria.

– Ministry of education, security agencies, NECO officials, proprietors are aware of the massive exam malpractices going on at special centers across Nigeria.

– Parents, school authorities, NECO officials are partners of examination malpractices going on in special centers.

– Elites, leaders, Ministers of Education don’t care about the rot in Nigeria’s education sector because most of their children and wards school abroad.

– As long as elites can send their children or wards abroad to study, they will continue to be less concerned about the quality of education in Nigeria.

– Exam malpractice on the increase because the system failed to punish the offenders or corrupt elements over time.

– Corruption is encouraged in the education sector because Nigeria’s society placed more emphasis on certificates rather than competence.

– Teachers now help students to cheat during examinations in schools.

– Government should be blamed for the massive corruption in the education sector.

– Parents, religious bodies, and citizens have not done enough to curb malpractices in school.

– Stakeholders in education sectors are not educationists.

– Federal government should set up a special body or independent consultant that will check excesses of those running special centres, rot in NECO, and report directly to the president.

– Corruption thriving because the kind of education offered in Nigeria currently is not value-based, not innovation-based.

– Value is not placed on educating ordinary Nigerians.

– Monies allocated for education not enough and not well accounted for.

– As a nation, Nigeria needs to take education as a very serious sector.

– Parents encouraging exam malpractice by pushing for their children or wards to exit primary school between the ages of 8 and 9.

– Poor infrastructure, overcrowded classrooms in schools is some of the root causes of cheating in Nigerian schools.

– Teacher’s remuneration is one of the factors why they condone exam malpractices and other forms of corruption in schools.

– Leaders, public office holders are not interested in curbing corruption in the education sector.

– The crop of leaders in the education sectors are not passionate about fighting corruption in the sector.

– Minister of education seemingly not interested in fighting examination malpractice in NECO organized exams.

 

CONCLUSION

– Nigeria government needs to reorganize the educational sector.

– Civic education should be made a compulsory subject in schools to develop the ethics and value system of students

– Teachers should concentrate on imparting morals and values to their students

– Civic education should be taught in schools by professionals, and there should be training and retraining for civic education teachers.

– There should be regular workshops on exam malpractices in schools.

– Nigeria needs vibrant, passionate people of integrity in the education sector.

– Regulatory bodies in the educational sector must do their jobs judiciously.

– Children in primary schools must stop jumping classes unnecessarily.

 

Contact:

Chidozie Ogbonnaya

Media and Communications Officer

PRIMORG

09022656167

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