WAYS OF CROPPING THE ADVERSE EFFECT OF EXAMINATION MALPRACTICE ON THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

WAYS OF  CROPPING THE ADVERSE EFFECT OF EXAMINATION MALPRACTICE ON THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION IN NIGERIA

The following could be adopted as ways of cropping the adverse effect of examination malpractice on in quality and standards of education in Nigeria educational sector:

1. Doing away with Sub-standard teachers: Sub-standard teachers are those that are either B.A. or B.Sc. without professional training. They later, go for PGDE i.e. Professional Graduate Diploma in Education, so as to join the teaching profession since they cannot secure any other job. In professions like medicine, law, engineering etc, there is nothing like sub-standard professionals. In like manner, teaching profession should not entertain or succumb to anything sub-standard. You either are grounded in education or find your way.

2. Supervision: There should be adequate supervision in all over Educational institutions. This supervision should be done by professionally trained and qualified teachers. The teachers should be supervised and guided on how they perform their duties. The teaching-learning facilities should be accessed to ensure that they are adequate and standard. The Head teachers, too should to be supervised and guided.

3. Monitoring: Teachers, head teachers facilities such as classrooms, textbooks, furniture, adequate and standard science facilities should be monitored. All these should be monitored regularly so as to keep trends with innovations.

4. Training and Re-training of Teachers: Even professionally trained teachers need retraining from time to time. This is so because education is dynamic. There is need for up-date in the profession.

5. Curriculum: Curriculum should be planned and reviewed from time to time. For instance, innovations do occur with time. In the past, we operated 6,5,4 system, later we adopted 6,3,3,4 system and currently 9,3,4 system. As a result of these changes, there is the need for periodic reviewing.

6. Teachers Registration: Teachers Registration Council (TRC) should register only professionally trained teachers. The professional teachers recognized in Nigeria are the Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) holders, University graduates in Education such as Bachelor of Education or Bachelor of either Arts or Science Education. Anything short The Kumbotso Teacher Educator July 2011 Edition Vol. 2 No. 2 of the above should not be recognized and registered as professional teachers. Also, Master of Education (M.Ed) or Ph.D in Education must be registered.

7. Establishment of more colleges of Education: More Colleges of Education should be established at the Federal and State levels to produce more qualified teachers. Universities should open Faculties of Education where there is none so as to train and produce more quality teachers.
8. Admission of Qualified Students: Colleges of Education and Faculties of Education in our Universities should ensure they admit candidates with very good grades after being screened and found eligible so as to turn out high quality teachers.

9. Use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT): For Nigeria to be technologically driven, the use of ICT in our educational institutions is essential. In this dispensation, the teacher does not necessarily have to come face-to-face with learners to teach them, rather through on line or internet. So, if the learners are taught how to use computer and they become computer literate, it is easier and faster to learn and how to obtain any piece of information without necessarily resorting to look for hard copy.
Virtually, all topics are on internet now. In advanced countries learners hardly have any physical contact with their teachers in the class, rather they make contact online where they are given topics to search and do assignments. Even the Federal Government recently made pronouncement that ICT would be compulsory subject in secondary schools. This is in line with the Federal Government’s desire to be technologically driven.
Quality education stands to benefit technologically as learning through online will be easier and faster than conventional or traditional system of talk and chalk (Onochie, 2011).

10. Adoption of Learner-Centered Teaching: should be adopted at all levels of our schools where learners’ role is greater than teacher’s. In this dispensation, the teacher is only a guide while much of the learning process will be undertaken by learners, contrary to what obtains, where learners sit within the four walls of a classroom, facing the teacher while he (the teacher) dominates the whole lesson. In other words, he is the alpha and omega, in which the participation of learners in the lesson is minimal or none. Learner
Centered Teaching emphasises group work rather than individual’s, it also emphasizes learners activities than teachers. What they learn in group through assignments and other activities under the approach tends to be more understood and retained. Hence, the use of leaner centered approach in our school would further enhance the quality of education.