ASSESSING STRATEGIES FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF EXAMINATION MALPRACTICE AMONG UNIVERSITIES IN BAYELSA STATE
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
Scholars generally agree that education can accelerate individual, societal, and national development. It acts as a catalyst for the generation of information and skills required for the survival and sustainability of society. In establishing higher institutions as agents of socioeconomic change and national development, the Federal Government of Nigeria specified the following tertiary institution objectives, as enunciated in the national education policy: a. Contribute to national growth by providing high-level appropriate workforce training; b. develop and instill appropriate values for individual and societal survival; c. improve people’s intellectual capacity to comprehend and appreciate their local and external surroundings; d. develop both physical and mental abilities that will enable people to be self-sufficient and productive members of society; e. support and promote academics and community service; f. foster and sustain national unity; and g. promote national and global understanding and engagement (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004). These objectives could only be achieved in a learning environment free of unethical behavior on the part of both faculty and students. As a result, unethical behavior is defined as any behavior that is prohibited by law (Civil Service Commission of Philippines, 2000). It also implies that the behavior is morally repugnant or legally prohibited. Unwanted behavior, poor conduct, or an illegal act that is punishable by law. Unethical behavior, according to Ogunleye (2000), occurs when choices allow an individual or group to benefit at the expense of society as a whole. Cumming, Maddux, Cleborne, and others support this. Allowing students to engage in incorrect or unethical working procedures, according to Dyas (2002), would harm their future employment, cause economic damage, and harm to other people’s reputations. This is because students perceive academic dishonesty as something they frequently engage in (Sankaran and Bui, 2003). Exam malpractices, plagiarism, undermining colleagues and peers in group work, unauthorized use of school computers to alter official scores, online copying and pasting, and other forms of academic dishonesty exist. In the context of this study, ethical behavior is a morally desirable type of legal behavior from a professional. In order to achieve its specific aims and objectives, school ethics are intended to provide equitable teaching and learning opportunities for all students and lecturers. , as well as the overall national education goals (Nwakpa, 2010). As a result, engaging in examination malpractice is akin to failing to meet educational goals. According to Asinya (2012), examination malpractice is a massive and unprecedented abuse of rules and regulations pertaining to internal and public examinations, beginning with the setting of such examinations and continuing through their administration, marking, and grading, as well as the release of results and the issuance of certificates. According to Dalton (2006), unethical behavior has permeated the fabric of the students, as various styles and techniques are used to assist themselves and their fellow students in exchange for/for financial satisfaction. Impersonation, thuggery, hooliganism, and physical violence were all introduced as new styles and methods. Assault, mercenary use, and examination delays, spying or giraffing, bringing prohibited materials to examination halls, configured calculators, illegal communications, and the exchange of answer booklets, exams, or question papers, Alutu and Aluede, 2005; Dalton, 2006) Dalton(2006); McCabe, Trevino, and Butterfield (2001) proposed that in every examination setting, each invigilator be assigned to one to twenty students, and that changes in students’ sitting arrangements should always be made to discourage staff from accepting monetary and material incentives from parents, guidance, students, and others who might want to destabilize the examination process. However, various studies on students’ unethical behavior have been conducted in Nigeria since the inception of tertiary education; however, to the best of the researcher’s knowledge, no empirical studies have been conducted. assault, the use of mercenaries, delaying the start of exams, spying or giraffing, bringing forbidden items into testing facilities, using modified calculators, illicit communications, and exchanging answer books, exams, or question papers Dalton (2006) and Alutu and Aluede (2005). Dalton (2006); McCabe, Trevino, and Butterfield (2001) proposed that each invigilator be assigned to one to twenty students in every examination setting, and that changes in students’ sitting arrangements should always be made. This was done to further deter staff from accepting monetary and material incentives from parents, guidance, students, and others who might want to disrupt the examination process. To the best of the researcher’s knowledge, no empirical studies on students’ unethical behavior have been done since the beginning of tertiary education in Nigeria. Exam rooms, customized calculators, shady communications, and the trading of exams, question papers, or answer books are a few examples. The level and quality of education have declined as a result of these heinous acts and activities in higher education. Numerous empirical studies on how to manage test-taking misconduct and students’ unethical behavior have been conducted as a result of the decline in the quality of tertiary education (Alutu, & Aluede, 2005). Despite these findings, there has been an unabated rise in examination malpractice because of students’ unethical behavior at higher educational institutions (Dalton, 2006). The question, “Have any methods for managing examination malpractice in tertiary institutions been identified?” has been raised in response to this. Additionally, Bayelsa State has hosted a number of empirical studies since the
To the best of the researcher’s knowledge, no study has been done to determine how to deal with examination malpractice as well as students’ unethical behavior in tertiary institutions in the state; as a result, this research study aims to fill that gap. The purpose of this study is to examine the procedures for handling test cheating among university students in Bayelsa State.
1.3 The study’s objectives
The following is the study’s main goal:
1. To identify the factors that contribute to exam fraud among university students in Bayelsa
2. To determine the impact of exam fraud on university students in Bayelsa
3. To investigate the methods university students use to combat cheating on exams.
4. To identify solutions
Exam cheating among students in Bayelsa universities can be eliminated
1.4 Hypothesis for the study
1. What are the root causes of exam fraud among Bayelsa university students?
2. What are the consequences of exam fraud among Bayelsa university students?
3. What are the methods employed to combat exam cheating among college students?
4. How can exam cheating be eliminated from Bayelsa university student populations?
1.5 Importance of the research
This study’s importance should not be understated because:
This study will look at methods for controlling examination fraud at universities in Bayelsa state.
The results of this study will undoubtedly give government agencies, radio stations, the broadcasting commission, and academia the information they so desperately need.
1.6 The extent of the Study
In this study, examination malpractice among university students in Bayelsa state will be managed using various management techniques. It will therefore be restricted to Niger Delta University.
1.7 Research limitations
The following are some of the factors that limited this study:
the same problems that plague other types of research, such as the lack of pertinent, up-to-date materials on the subject and the inability to collect data
The researcher encountered financial limitations when procuring pertinent materials, printing questionnaires, and compiling them.
Time is a factor that also poses limitations because the researcher must juggle writing the research and doing other academic work, which is uncomfortable.
1.8 Definitions of terms used operationally
Strategy: a plan of action designed to
attain a long-term or broad goal.
Management is the process of handling or exercising control over objects or people.
Exam malpractice is any intentional wrongdoing that is contrary to the examination’s rules and intended to give a candidate an unfair advantage.
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