Abuja – Exam Ethics Marshal International, an NGO, has advised school authorities to use exam ethics to fight corruption in the education sector.
The Chairman of the NGO, Mr Ike Onyechere, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday.
Onyechere was speaking on the efforts the organisation was making to curb exam malpractice in the country.
He said that as part of efforts to support the fight against corruption in the education sector, the NGO had established an exam ethics movement in some tertiary schools and inducted lecturers and students as exam ethics marshals.
“These marshals are stakeholders, who are committed to promoting ethics, integrity and best practices in their own sphere of operational influence, in their own sphere of leadership influence.
“It is not a question of they will tell you not to do, but they have themselves agreed that they will not commit malpractice; they will not sexually harass girls, before they now insist on convincing their colleagues not to do it.
“We have what we call exam ethics students; these exam ethics students are the vehicle for promoting the campaign amongst students in schools.
“They are students who will say they must pass based on merit; they are not interested in exam malpractice; that is the revolution that we are creating.
“If, for example, we can get all the institutions in this country to say we are exam ethics friendly and partner institutions and they actually do what that thing requires, you will find that education will improve.’’
Onyechere further said the organisation had established chapters of exam ethics movement in some institutions in the country
The chapters are known as exam ethics friends and partner institutions.
“What this means is that they have a viable, operational, strong chapter of exam ethics marshals and the institutions are promoting that policy.
“As exam ethics marshal friend and partner institution, you cannot commit exam malpractice whether as lecturer or as a student.’’
He listed some of these institutions to include Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia, and Babcock University.
Onyechere noted that nobody had been jailed for examination malpractice because the law was not being enforced.
“The issue of campaigning for advocating taking people to jail, we just find out that it would not give us the best result because it has not happened and it is difficult for it to happen.
“No person is actually going to jail, based on those laws; those laws are just there.
“If you really want to jail people involved in malpractice, you will empty all the jails in Nigeria, fill it with exam fraudsters and increase the jail by more than 1,000 per cent; it would still not be enough.
“Because you can hardly find any person in the education sector, who can swear and say I have not committed exam malpractice or committing one, it is systemic. The system forces you to.’’ (NAN)