[Samuel Tolulope]

Examination malpractice causes, effects, and solutions in Nigeria

Definition of examination malpractice
Examination malpractice can simply be defined as academic dishonesty or academic fraud. In fact, both of these notions can be used interchangeably. So, what is the definition of examination malpractice? This is any type of cheating during the examination process. It does not only refer to students, but to staff too. There are a lot of different types of examination malpractice, but the most general ones are:

Plagiarism: reproduction of someone’s work without any sort of attribution or references to the original author.
Fabrication: falsification of data, information or reference sources.
Lying: giving wrong info to the educational staff.
Cheating: an attempt to take in helpful material for the exam but in a way that the instructor or the examiner does not know about it, including the use of cheat sheets.
Bribery: getting the right answers or marks for money.
Sabotage: an attempt to prevent others from passing the exams. This includes, among other things, tearing pages from their books, deliberate damage to someone else’s work etc.
Professor-teaching misconduct: deliberately giving incorrect grade to the student’s work or encouraging academic fraud.

Causes of examination malpractice in Nigeria

Incentives for deception
Some researchers believe that there are students with a pathological desire to cheat. For example, scientists have found a link between some plagiarism acts and kleptomania. So, while some people just cannot help themselves when it comes to cheating, others take deliberate actions towards it.

Demographic reasons
Some demographic aspects like age, gender, and average score may determine the likelihood of a person to cheat. Secondary school students, women, and intelligent students cheat less often, while students that participate in a lot of extracurricular activities are more likely to cheat. Students participating in non-educational actions may be less involved in their studies or need more free time, which they don’t have. It leads to a greater necessity to cheat.

Social and academical environment
There is a connection between malpractice and the educational environment. For example, research shows that bullied students or those who are uncomfortable in the learning environment are very likely to cheat.

Teachers can unintentionally stimulate examination malpractice. One study showed that when a teacher is very strict and unfair in their teaching, students can see cheating as a form of revenge.

Solutions for examination malpractice in Nigeria
Numerous publications consider various measures of counteracting cheating in exams.

Disqualifying them from taken the exam
Low marks.
Monetary fines (for example, in Oxford, a fine of £100 is imposed on fraudulent students).
Most researchers agree that in order to combat student fraud during examinations, a set of measures, both administrative and educational, is needed to increase interest in learning. .

University library
Ultimately, examination malpractice destroys the academic world. This destrous the main point of education — the gaining of knowledge and practical skills. This means students can obtain a certificate without gaining knowledge. This phenomenon makes the learning process unfair. As a result, even honest students and teachers feel its negative effect.

[Martins]

How can plagiarism be avoided?, cos I think we are guilty of that one way or the other

[Author]

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