Examination Malpractice: Causes, Effects, and Solutions, more than all other factors deteriorating the educational system, examination malpractice plays a leading role. What good will it do to us if it continues? So we cannot keep watching the educational system die like this.
Given this, we shall be considering the meaning of examination malpractice: causes, effects, and solutions, in this article.
By the end of this piece, you should be able to:
- Understand the concept and definition of Examination Malpractice
- Know the causes, effects and solution of Examination Malpractice
- Leave here with strong understanding and determination not to engage in examination malpractice
Carefully read the information available here, and you will have nothing left to learn about the topic.
What is Examination Malpractice?
Examination Malpractice may be considered a deliberate act against the official examination rules.
It’s possible to characterize examination malpractice as academic dishonesty or fraud; in reality, you can use either of these concepts instead of the other.
Causes Of Examination Malpractice
We have compressed all the common causes of examination malpractice into five major categories. Understanding the causes will drastically improve your knowledge of the possible solutions to this examination anomaly.
1. Learners’ Attitude Towards Learning
The most significant cause of examination malpractice is learners’ attitude towards learning.
Every human being has the power to determine what they want to become. Hence, students involved in examination malpractice should be held responsible for their actions.
We must admit that the decision to participate in examination malpractice is unnatural and should not be considered by any academic student.
How Learners’ Attitude Leads to Examination Malpractice
Here are some of the ways learners cause themselves to be involved in examination Malpractice
Misuse of the media: Students should ideally have access to the media to help them do research quickly and easily. However, most students tend to misuse the media, chatting all day and night with people they probably do not need in their lives.
Moving with the wrong set of people: It doesn’t matter whether you do it online or offline; the kind of people you move with can go a long way to affect you.
You should know you don’t need everyone in your life; select the best of friends and work on projects that will add value to you academically as a student.
Yes, many might want to argue that there is more to this. Quite okay, but we must understand that there is time for everything. As a student, your priority should be academic excellence.
Time mismanagement: This is not a problem facing students alone; it is a problem facing more than half of the universe. Thus, I would like to go general at this point. Many find it hard to tell what to do at a particular time, hence doing the (probably) right things at the wrong time.
This is not supposed to be if you crave success in whatever ramifications.
Time mismanagement is what leads students to reading when the examination is only a few hours ahead. Some students start reading only a few minutes before entering the examination hall. Don’t they have the same 24 hours as others who have read long before the paper?
Involving in examination Malpractice: Students who could not read at the right time will most likely have no choice but to seek shortcuts to examination success.
Another way students could be the cause of their involvement in examination malpractice is by failing to attend classes regularly. This affects lazy students, especially since they would not read. Indeed, one can not write what he does not know.
2. Faults on the part of the parents
We have gotten it all wrong if we take away the role of parents in the rapid increment of examination malpractice across the globe today.
Before understanding that one could cheat in the exam hall, learners have acquired much knowledge at home. For this reason, some sociologists proved that a child starts becoming whatever he wants from home.
Most parents do not discourage cheating in the examination hall on their children.
It all begins when the teacher gives an assignment with such instructions as “the learner should identify five floating objects on his own…” and the parents do otherwise.
Not knowing they are deteriorating the child’s reasoning faculty and building in him a mentality that the goal is TO GET IT DONE! Regardless of the means through which it happens.
3. Environmental Factor
This is one of the most significant factors that should be considered when talking not only about examination malpractice but the behaviour of people generally.
The only way to know the importance of the environment in our lives is by observing that most people from a particular geographic entity behave similarly.
The environment and home of a child determine their background/upbringing, which will then tell in years ahead.
Students tend to meet most of their friends growing up on the street. For learners who happen to meet good friends, chances are that they will perform well in their studies, as they will be motivated by the learning attitude of one another.
4. Overrating Certificates
No one will deny that certificates are essential, as they are part of the features of formal education. But in the world today, especially in Africa, more emphasis is laid on certificates than on the holders’ ability.
Thinking that a certificate is the ultimate goal of education is a worthy cause of examination malpractice. Many opine they will get good jobs after successfully manoeuvring their ways to get it.
5. The institution
More to the points already mentioned, we must consider that some school owners are business people who establish the institutions with the main aim of making a profit rather than imparting knowledge in the life of students.
Such attitudes on the part of school owners, staff in control, etc., will be appropriately categorized as “The institution,” as a few other factors within the school could contribute to the continuity of Malpractice.
Also, sometimes employing unqualified and incompetent teachers can affect the students in a way that many of them (students) will become dull and have to rely on help for examination success.
Another way the institution could contribute to the growth of examination malpractice is by not cautioning their students during internal examinations.
Some schools are more uneasy with their students than others regarding internal examinations, thinking that it would be a shame on the school to have the students fail what they pay to be taught. On the other hand, doing this is not to the advantage of students as they get used to being fed answers and relent in their studies.
In a nutshell, learners should be made to understand in all circumstances that they are in charge of their lives and must take full responsibility for whatever comes their way.
Effects of Examination Malpractice
Below are effects of examination malpractice;
- Lack of Confidence
- Dismissal
- Incompetency
- Less intellectually competitive country
- Inability to defend results or certificate
- Temporary joy to the partakers
1. Lack of Confidence
You should not expect someone who cannot stand to write their examination alone to be academically self-reliant. They can be very confidential in handling other things, but we must understand it is not academic.
Involving in examination malpractice is like taking drugs; one quickly gets used and becomes addicted to them. As soon as a student is too into exam malpractices, they will no longer believe it is possible to pass without some help somewhere.
Furthermore, we should recall that a student who is not confident in himself, regardless of his knowledge, can not make good use of the command.
2. Dismissal
In most higher institutions, the reward for examination malpractice is expulsion. This is the effect of examination malpractice mainly on the part of the student involved in it.
Regardless of one’s level at the institution, many Nigerian Universities, for instance, will not take a plea before expelling students caught cheating in the examination hall.
3. Incompetency
The world has a lot of unqualified teachers today because they were yesterday’s students who failed to learn as supposed. These people found many shortcuts to graduate from school, and after graduation, they are found incompetent.
We don’t only have them as teachers who will again build students worse than them; we also have them as employees who will bribe some people before getting employed.
I wonder what the use of an education one claims to acquire without any positive impact.
4. Less intellectually competitive country
Some countries remain undeveloped, predominantly intellectual-wise, because of their high examination malpractice rate.
Year after year, a good number of people that cannot perhaps, write more than their names graduate in some countries. We should admit that countries that lack intellectually competitive students have meagre chances of development because the citizens (especially students) contribute significantly to the growth of nations.
The government should also note that the likes of these people are equal to liability for the country and may result in illegal practices.
5. Inability to defend results or certificate
After spending years in school and graduating with good grades and a certificate of learning completion, it is terrible news to admit that many cannot defend their results.
This effect might sound light and straightforward to you and causes more harm than you can imagine.
6. Temporary joy to the partakers
Although many will not look into the good side of examination malpractice, its effects depict the outcome of an action.
On the part of the partaker, which is why they are doing it, examination malpractice makes one feel fulfilled for the time being.
The harmful effect comes when one gets caught or has to defend the result, some people lose job opportunities because they cannot defend the good grades in their results.
To round up, examination malpractice has no good lasting advantage on partakers. The worst is that it affects those involved more, giving the wise no reason to practice it.
Solutions to Examination Malpractice
We have looked at the meaning, causes, and effects of examination malpractice; the next thing to consider is the possible ways to bring an end to this unlawful act.
- Punishment for Social anomaly Must Be Taken Seriously
- Employers should celebrate competency rather than results
- Consequences of Examination Malpractices Should Be Taught
- Parents should discourage the act of cheating in their children
- Students should Know how their future will be with Malpractice
- Students should never go into the examination hall without reading
- Educational sectors should be well funded
1. Punishment for Social anomaly Must Be Taken Seriously
Students caught in examination malpractice should not be left unpunished to teach others not to do the same thing.
Students at the high school level should, for instance, be suspended when caught cheating in the hall or asked to reseat for the papers.
2. Employers should celebrate competency rather than results
At this point, we should not be deceived by the grades in people’s results but somewhat concerned about the abilities and unique potentials of the employees. This way, people studying specific courses will focus better so they can defend themselves and get some good jobs.
3. Consequences of Examination Malpractices Should Be Taught
While it is true that many of the students involved in examination malpractice know it is not good, some students do not know how it can affect them. Chances are that if many get to know how involving in examination malpractice can affect them; the rate will get reduced to some great extent.
This could be a public enlightenment program organized by schools, government, and other institutions.
4. Parents should discourage the act of cheating in their children
Parents and guardians should know they also have a role to play in the growth of examination malpractice. They can determine in some ways whether or not the rate will increase.
They could, for instance, serve as a source of enlightenment to students on the opposing sides of examination malpractice.
5. Students should Know how their future will be with Malpractice
Given the effects of this act, students should be made to imagine their future when they do their best to write their papers themselves.
The pride will be yours in the future if you stand your ground to face your papers yourself today.
6. Students should never go into the examination hall without reading
It is not magic, and students should be told that there are no shortcuts to success (even if they exist, they are not recommended). Whoever wants to come out of school with flying colours should be ready to read hard, intensively and extensively.
One problem is that students do not often think they can understand certain subjects due to the kind of teacher taking the issue or its complexity. Either way, they should be encouraged to be readers.
Things that will motivate students to sit up and read more should not be denied to learners. Sometimes, it could be as little as hanging out in amusement parks, airports, etc. When learners are taken out of their comfort zones to see what some people have become through education, they will be motivated to learn more.
7. Educational sectors should be well funded
You want to agree with me now that without the knowledge of the inspectors watching over the examination hall, students will find it hard to cheat.
However, some teachers cannot stand to face the truth in this case because the students involved in the act have what the teacher needs; money.
In a nutshell, learners should understand that certificates do not necessarily tell how much the holders know.
Commonly Asked Examination Malpractice Questions And Answers
Sometimes I wink at my friends and get some answers through the same gesture from them. Could we say that is examination malpractice? It is not examination malpractice only if it is not done in an examination hall.
Is bribing to pass after or before an examination a kind of Malpractice?
This is an excellent question to talk about.
Do you know there are different forms of examination malpractice?! Oh, many think when we write on papers and take them into the examination hall is the only time we have done malpractices… That is not all that true.
Forms Of Examination Malpractice
Some of the most common forms of examination malpractice include:
1. Bribing for examination success
Some corrupt students go to see corrupt examination markers/officials and offer some money to have good results. This is not very common examination malpractice because many do not know it is one.
2. Getting question papers before the examination time
Some teachers or other staff of many institutions are renegades, thereby involved in the increment of examination malpractice by sharing the exact questions that will come out in the hall with candidates.
3. Getting answers before seeing the questions
The extent to which people are hungry for a certificate takes them to the length of seeking answers before entering the examination hall.
4. Plagiarism
One of the most common forms of examination malpractice. It is the act of copying and claiming other people’s ideas. So bad an act!
Going into the examination hall with materials to help answer the questions that the teacher may ask.
In conclusion, examination malpractice is unreliable and should thenceforth not be practised by students who make themselves proud of themselves in the future.
