The West African Examinations Council has revealed that in a hurry to submit their answer booklets to invigilators, some candidates forget their expo (materials used for examination malpractice) in the booklets. The council also noted that some other candidates use different answer booklets from its authorised copies.
Its Public Relations Officer, Mr. Demianus Ojijeogu, who confirmed this in an interview with our correspondent, however, added that the council had reduced the incidence of impersonation in its examinations through its biometric registration process. He said:
“We encounter malpractice during the examination and during marking. Some leave the expo in the answer booklets. We see that all the time. Others use other answer booklets different from the council’s own. But, we discover these things during marking because the booklets do not have our serial numbers and they are not usually signed by the supervisors.”
“Supervisors usually sign the booklets before they are given to the candidates. We have been able to handle impersonation through our biometric process but there is still collusion where candidates will copy exactly the same answers usually dictated by a teacher. We have our invigilators but the number is limited. When you leave the centre or before we get there, they will do what they want.”
He added that the council was still dealing with challenges of collusion, which involved teachers aiding candidates during examination. Ojijeogu, who said that some candidates harassed supervisors, noted that the development had forced the council to adopt a more discreet approach in making announcements regarding examination malpractice.
“We no longer make noise about examination malpractice because examination supervision is a hazardous job. When candidates engage in malpractice, we just take their number and they fill a form. Some of our workers have been held hostage, female supervisors have been harassed. It is a hazardous job,” he added.