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Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 114 (2014) 125 – 129

4th World Conference on Psychology, Counseling and Guidance

STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION OF CAUSES AND EFFECTS

OF EXAMINATION MALPRACTICE IN THE NIGERIAN
EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM: THE WAY FORWARD FOR
QUALITY EDUCATION
Janet Sunday Petters and Maureen O. Okon
*

Faculty of Education, University of Calabar, Calabar Cross River State, Nigeria

Abstract

In an attempt to study the perception of university students on the causes and effects of examination malpractices in Nigerian
Educational System, two research questions were raised and analysed for possible answers using a survey research design
method. Four hundred university students were randomly selected from the research area. A questionnaire consisting of
twenty-five (25) items was constructed, and duly validated by the researchers for the study. The results obtained from the
study indicated that a test-retest reliability index ranging from 0.77 to 0.85 were feasible. It was also indicative that societal
preference for paper qualification, lack of positive self concept, lack of effective study skills, inadequate preparation
andlaziness are some of the causes of examination malpractice among university students. The identified effects included
discouragement of candidates from studying hard, denial of admission to deserving students, underachievement in labour
market and overall reduction in quality of education. Based on this, it was concluded that personal and societal factors could
cause examination malpractice and the society is likely to suffer from low productivity because of this malaise, examination
malpractice.
© 2013
© 2013 The
The Authors.
Authors.Published
Publishedby byElsevier
ElsevierLtd.
Ltd.Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
Selection and
Selection andpeer-review
peer-reviewunder
underresponsibility
responsibilityofofAcademic
Prof. Dr. World
Tülay Education
Bozkurt, Istanbul KulturCenter.
and Research University, Turkey
Keywords: malpractice, education

1. Introduction

The rampant occurrence of examination malpractice has become an issue of growing importance and
concern in the global educational systems. Most examinations are usually marked by complaints of various
forms of malpractice. In most of these examinations, cheating is a recurrent event. According to Isangedighi
(2007), in Nigeria where certificates and diplomas are the sole indices of educational growth and examinations
the only means of obtaining these certificates students seem to see examinations as wars of survival and cheating
as an effective means of winning the war. Although examination malpractice attracts ugly penalties such as

*
Corresponding Author: Janet Sunday Petters
E-mail address: [email protected]

1877-0428 © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Open access under CC BY-NC-ND license.
Selection and peer-review under responsibility of Academic World Education and Research Center.
doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.12.671
126 Janet Sunday Petters and Maureen O. Okon / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 114 (2014) 125 – 129

rustication, it nevertheless fails to increase in strength and sophistication. The rising wave of examination
malpractice amongst the youths today is posing a big challenge to our present contemporary society.
Examination, many observe, is no longer a true test of one’s ability. Most of the students are no longer
serious with their studies because they believe solely in indulging in examination malpractice which to them is a
short cut to success. Nowadays, students refer to examination malpractice as “brain support” which implies it is
an act to aid one’s memory in examinations. Most students no longer believe in hard work. Obagah (1995) has
described examination malpractice as a perennial problem in the whole of the educational system. Many efforts
have been put forward by different governments, school authorities and individuals to eradicate this malady but
this in most instances have proved abortive. Since examination is aimed at evaluating each candidate’s merit and
predicting subsequent performance, it therefore generates competition among candidates resulting in examination
malpractice in some instances. Examination malpractice is becoming a plaque in the Nigeria educational system.
It is an illegal action in terms of acts of omission during construction, custodianship, administration,
marking and releasing of examination results before, during and after an administered examination. Examination
malpractice will include any of the following, impersonation, leakage, swapping of scripts, smuggling of answer
scripts into examination halls, dubbing (direct copying of answers to questions and taking into examination
rooms). It also includes results/certificate forgery and verbal or physical assault on examination administrators.
There maybe mass cheating of students or a form of malpractice called “sorting” which involves alteration of
examination grades with the use of money. Today, there is an unholy, unwholesome conspiracy to aid
examination malpractice by school heads, teachers, invigilators, parents students whose motive is to make quick
money rather than genuine love for the candidates to excel in their studies (Idaka, 2006).
Many causes have been linked to the prevalent cases of examination malpractice. Adekale (1993)
identified poor preparation for examinations, low moralityand poor school facilities as causes of examination
malpractice. Other causes may include the fear of failure, craze for certificate, desire of parents to have their
children in choice professions and university, pressure on students to pursue courses for which they have no
aptitude, pressure on teachers who want to gain favour of student and overcrowded sitting arrangement.
Examination malpractice has serious implications for the educational system, students, teachers, parents
and the school as a whole. Nigeria has been graded with reliability of half-baked graduates, low productivity and
poor job performance, certificate racketeering and qualification inflation (Nwaba&Nwaba, 2005).The credibility
of our certificates become questionable internationally. There is no argument to the point that examination
malpractice occurring at all levels of Nigerian educational system constitutes a serious threat, a menace to the
entire educational system as well as to the socio-economic development of the nation. On the bases of these, this
study therefore sets out to investigate the causes and effects of examination malpractice, as perceived by
University undergraduates.

Research questions
(1) What are the perceived causes of examination malpractice
(2) What are the perceived effects of examination malpractice on our educational system?

Methodology
The research design used for this study is survey method. A total of four hundred students from four (4)
universities in Nigeria were used for the study. Purposive sampling procedure was used to obtain the sample
from the population. The main instrument used for the study was the researchers designed and validated
questionnaire. Part A consisted of fifteen (15) items on perceived causes of examination malpractice and Part B
consisted of ten (10) items on perceived effects of examination malpractice. The respondents were requested to
tick the option as applicable to them. Test re-test reliability index was established. The reliability coefficient
ranged for 0.77 and 0.85 indicating that it met appropriate psychometric requirements for us in collecting the data
for the study. Data generated from the instrument were used to answer the research questions using simple
percentages.

Results
Research question 1
What are the perceived causes of examination malpractice?
 Janet Sunday Petters and Maureen O. Okon / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 114 (2014) 125 – 129 127

Table 1

Studentsresponses on perceived causes of examination malpractice

S/N Items Yes % Position No %
1. Societal preference for certificates (paper qualification) 349 87 1st 51 13
2. Lack of positive self concept 334 84 2nd 67 16
3. Lack of good study habits 305 76 3rd 95 24
4. Inadequate preparation for examination 300 75 4th 100 25
5. Laziness to work hard 300 75 4th 100 25
6. Lack of appropriate punishment measures for students 297 74 6th 103 26
involved in examination malpractice
7. Uncompleted syllabus 289 72 7th 111 18
8. Lack of adequate learning facilities 280 70 8th 120 30
9. Parental influence to choose career for me 270 67 9th 130 32
10. Over congested classrooms for exams 253 63 10th 147 37
11. Incompetent teachers 250 62 11th 150 38
12. Wish to conform to peer pressure 228 57 12th 72 43
13. Poor invigilation 221 55 13th 179 45
14. High cost of examination fees 196 49 14th 204 51
15. Poor state of nation’s economy 188 47 15th 212 53

Table 1 reveals the dominant position of societal preference for paper qualification in contributing to
examination malpractice. This ranks first (87%), while student-related factors like lack of positive self concept
(84%), lack of effective study habits (76%) rank second and third. Inadequate preparation and laziness to work
hard both rank as the fourth cause of examination malpractice.

Effect of examination malpractice

Research question 2
What are the perceived effects of examination malpractice?

The following responses were obtained from four hundred students from four Federal Universities in Nigeria and
the result tabulated as follows.

Table 2
Students perceived effects of examination malpractice (N = 400)
S/N Items Yes % Position No %
1. Discourages students from studying hard 357 89 1st 43 11
2. Underachievement in labour market 312 78 2nd 88 22
3. Leads to denial of admission to deserving students 310 77 3rd 94 23
4. Leads to overall reduction in quality of education 306 76 4th 90 24
5. Reduces credibility of Nigerian certificates outside the 298 75 5th 240 60
country
6. Reduces healthy competition among examinees 248 62 6th 158 38
7. It reduces the value of certificates 217 54 7th 183 46
8. It lowers educational standard 206 52 8th 194 48
9. Leads to ineffective study habit among students 200 50 9th 200 50
10. Poor attitude at future workplace 186 47 10th 214 53

Discussion
Students perceived causes of examination malpractice:
128 Janet Sunday Petters and Maureen O. Okon / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 114 (2014) 125 – 129

This study ranks societal preference for paper qualification as the leading cause of examination
malpractice. This indicates that most students are in schools not really to acquire skills but to obtain certificates
which they can utilize to get employment. This consequently leads to underachievement in the labour market.
The finding of this study is in line with Jega (2006) which indicates that societal-related factors such as the grave
for certificate or paper qualification are responsible for examination malpractice. Most students believe that the
possession of certificate by any means is a necessity since certificates serve as a gateway to successful future life
in Nigeria. This work is also in consonance with Ukpor (2005) who asserts that there is much emphasis on paper
qualifications which has led to impersonation in examinations or certificate forgery. Less attention seems to be
paid to matching performance with paper qualifications.
The student-related factors come next in this study as being the causes of examination malpractice.
These are lack of positive self concept, lack of effective study habits, inadequate preparation and laziness to work
hard. Students need positive self-concept, positive attitude to studies and effective study habits to achieve
academic success.It is important to note that inability to apply good study skills will create opportunities for
anxiety which in excess reduces the extent of students’ effectiveness in the process of acquiring knowledge such
students tend to cheat in examinations. This is in agreement with Ukpor (2005) who reports that student with
negative self concept doubts himself and such a person makes his failure certain and to pass an examination, he
gets involved in examination malpractice. This study also supports Otu (2009) who found that students’ attitude
and study habit have a significant relationship with their malpractice behaviour in examination. Lack of good
study habits leads to tension which reduces the level of students’ effectiveness and performance in examinations.

Students’ perceived effects of examination malpractice

The findings of this study consider the effects of examination malpractice on the society and on
undergraduate students. It ranks discouragement of candidates from studying hard first, closely followed by
underachievement in labour market. Coming third is the denial of admission to deserving students followed by
overall reduction in quality of education. Examination malpractice discourages students from working hard but
rather they spend their time to plan the strategy they intend to employ to cheat in examination.The students also
indicated that examination malpractice reduces credibility of Nigerian certificates outside the country. This
finding is in support of Ukpor (2005) who specifically stated that the credibility of our Nigerian certificates
outside the country is another implication of examination malpractice. Most Nigerian youths seeking further
training abroad are subjected to all forms of screening to determine their credibility which is ridicule on our
educational system.
The result of this study is also in consonance with that of Nwaba and Nwaba (2005) who explained that
due to examination malpractice, Nigeria has been graded with reliability of half-baked graduates, low
productivity and poor job performance and certificate racketeering. Cheating in examination makes the student
to keep climbing academic ladder without adequate preparation for the next-level. This results in accumulation
of deficiency which leads to avoidable underachievement. Such individuals become architects of bribery and
corruption and continue to perpetuate most of the evils in the society. Individuals who live by cheating in
examinations are not likely to attain their potentials in skills acquisition. This is because the required initial
knowledge is absent which makes human capital formation an impossible task.

The way forward for quality education

Examination malpractice in Nigeria has attained a frightening proportion and it is becoming more
sophisticated as years pass by. Efforts by government and stakeholders to curtail this trend have not yielded
much success. If this trend is not given an urgent attention, it may utterly destroy the quality of education in
Nigeria.More emphasis should be placed on continuous assessment at all levels of learning as a way of de-
emphasizing examination in the process of awarding certificates. Emphasis should be placed on oral
examinations and group work for the undergraduate students and less emphasis should be placed on paper
qualifications.
Good moral values and instructions should be properly inculcated into our youths. Parents should be
counselled not to aid their children to cheat in examinations. There is need to emphasize honesty on the part of
those who handle examination matters. Teachers and counsellors should identify strategies of reducing test
anxiety among students as it will help to reduce malpractice behaviour during examination. Effective counselling
 Janet Sunday Petters and Maureen O. Okon / Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 114 (2014) 125 – 129 129

services should be enhanced in schools to assist students acquire techniques of effective study habits. School
counsellors should guide students on the need to develop positive self concepts and face all examination with
confidence. The school guidance and counseling programmes should go beyond the students to reach the
parents, guardians and the larger society. This is necessary because parents, guardians and larger society have a
lot of influences on the school child. Students should be properly counselled and guided to develop good reading
culture.
School authority should always organize seminars, workshop and symposium on the ills of examination
malpractice in schools. Examination ethics code of conduct should be produced and distributed in institutions
and appropriate authorities. This should spell out the duties, responsibilities and penalties needed for the conduct
of examination in our school system. There should be full implementation of the examination malpractice decree
in Nigeria which advocates for twenty-one years jail term for culprits of examination malpractice. If this is fully
implemented, it will serve as a deterrent to other students.
Questions of essay type in examinations especially at the tertiary level should be the sort that examines
not only cognitive intelligence but emotional intelligence as well as imaginative intelligence. Examination
questions should be the type that requires creative responses not merely regurgitating of facts.
For quality education in Nigeria to be ensured, electronic examination should be encouraged. This
allows the students to take examinations using the computers to provide answers to the questions according to
specific time.If all the external examinations are taken through the use of computer in Nigeria, the issue of
malpractice will be checked to a large extent and a better quality of Nigerian educational system will be ensured.

REFERENCES

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Educational Foundations, 4(1), 18 – 41.
Idaka, E. I. (2006). Examination malpractice and learning outcomes of students in selected Nigerian
Universities. Calabar: Rapid Educational Publication.
Isangedighi, A. J. (2007). Child psychology.Calabar: Eti-Nwa Associates.
Jega, A. M. (2006). Examination malpractice; concept, causes, consequences and remedies.Education for Today,
6(2), 59 – 72.
Nwaba, E. I. &Nwaba, P. A. (2005).Correlates of examination cheating behaviour among university students.IFE
Psychologia, 11(1), 71 – 79.
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Foundations, Guidance and Counselling, University of Calabar.
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and Counselling, University of Calabar.