Here is a recent report that is likely to shock you. It says an unbelievable 67 per cent of Nigerian primary and secondary schools, both private and public, support examination malpractices.
The report by the Exam Ethic Marshals International paints a damning picture of Nigeria’s first two tiers of formal education.
ait. Live Abulu osemuaghu tells us why more students continue to fail, despite patronising the so-called “miracle centres”
Exam centers in Nigeria, particularly those known as “Miracle Examination Centres” primarily emerged due to the high value placed on passing the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination, SSCE, leading to a widespread culture of exam malpractice where both public and private schools facilitate cheating to guarantee good results for their students, often in exchange for high fees; essentially creating a market for “guaranteed” success in exams, regardless of actual academic ability.
The Nigerian society, often prioritising having a good SSCE certificate for further education and job opportunities, has created pressure on students to achieve high marks.
A research conducted by Exam Ethics Marshals International shows 67 per cent of schools both public and private either operate or patronise exam miracles centres to aid their students get high scores.
Founding Chairman of exams ethics marshals, Ike Onyechere, noted that most of the ‘miracle centres’ or ‘magic centres’ operate as syndicates with a membership that covers the chain of critical actors in the school and examination administration process.
The research revealed further that Exam miracle centres thrive because parents willingly pay exorbitant fees and levies to enable their children pass exams. Not minding the fact that exam magic centres’ are interested only in the money, where they are effectively laying the foundation for the eventual destruction of the future of the children
The number of Exam Miracle Centres in Nigeria is not currently known. However, a study by Agwu et al. 2020, identified four Nigerian locations with a prevalence of MECs. These locations are Abuja, Anambra, Edo, and Kogi.
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An ait.live investihation reveals exam papers popularly known as ‘Expo’ are usually available in these exam miracle centres.
Inspite of these leakages, a total of 503,275 candidates out of 1.8 million that sat for the 2024 West African Senior School Certificate Examination, WASSCE failed English Language and Mathematics.
While the 2024 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination , UTME saw a significant number of candidates fail, with 76% scoring below 200 over 400.
In the meantime, the Nigerian government has set up an Exam malpractices elimination committee, but whether this committee will have the political will and moral standing to deal with increasing sophistication in the illegal practice remains to be seen.
An official of a state basic education commission, who pleaded anonymity, says most private schools are owned by government officials in either Ministry of education or any of its agencies and understand the miracles produced at “miracle centres’
(Editor : Ena Agbanoma)
