Chapter one
Introduction
Background of the study
Education is an instrument for national development. In Nigeria, before the 1840s there was in existence a system of education. This was broadly traditional, occupationally oriented and informal apprenticeship system. This type of education as at that time was quite relevant to the needs of the society. However, examinations play vital role not only in our educational system but also in the society as a whole. In the Nigerian school system various forms of examinations are noticed. These are the entrance examinations, the terminal and promotion examinations, the senior school certificate examination and degree or diploma examinations. Students are required to pass any form of examination they partake in for the purpose of assessing and evaluating their ability and cognitive skills.
Also, due to the reason that success in a particular level of examination often times serve as a requirement for promotion for further education. This makes student find various means of achieving success in these examinations and one of such ways is by cheating in examinations.Examination has been recognized as forming the nucleus of education with the principal aim of assessing how much learning has taken place and to what extent the educational goals and objectives have been achieved. It is assumed that without examination, education will be incomplete since there may be no avenue for assessment. Examination malpractice is one of the serious problems plaguing Nigeria system of education today coupled with intellectual dishonesty. The fact remains that examination malpractice has become a usual practice in Nigeria with almost every person being involved in one or the other. The incidence of cheating in examinations is multidimensional in nature (Onyekwelu, 2005).
Cheating in examinations has changed the habits and attitudes of students towards examination, before, during or after examinations. Cheating in examination which is also known as examination malpractice, is an act of not keeping to examination ethics and the violation of rules and regulations of the conduct of examinations (Ekpe, 2004). Cheating in examination is a common practice everywhere and every examination season witnesses the emergence of new and ingenious ways of cheating. Though cheating is neither a recent phenomenon nor is it peculiar to Nigeria or Africa, the alarming rate of increase is a global issue (Awanbor, 2005).Cheating in examinations started before the early 70s, the situation became worse in1977 when mass cheating was first perpetrated in WAEC examination resulting in public outcry on the credibility of examinations then in Nigeria. In the 1990s, the act became a dangerous epidemic because it spread in a great proportion to every level of the educational institution in the country (Opata, 2003).
The menace of examination malpractice is quite old in Nigeria. In the words of Olushola (2006) the brief history of examination malpractice in Nigeria according to historical records is traceable to the year as far back as 1914, when there was a leakage of question paper into senior Cambridge Local Examination. However, some people traced the history of this menace to the wave of cancellation of Nigeria Matriculation Examination the then “Yaba” Nigeria Technical in 1984. Cheating in examination is a manifestation of dishonest attitude. It is a deliberate act of commission made by a candidate, single−handedly or in collaboration with others, to obtain a better grade than he is capable of obtaining. This is not new and is not peculiar to specific schools (Isanghedihi, 1988).
It is a negative tendency that has eaten deep into the substance of the examination system. Due to increase in the cases of cheating in examinations, it has not only constituted a deviant behaviour, but has also affected the validity of examination results and certificates issued to candidates concerned (Onyehalu, 2006).According to Ohuche (2000), the school principals and administrators contribute to students’ negative attitude towards cheating in examination because some of the school principals and administrators direct staff to fraudulently assist students during examinations, since their promotion sometimes depends on the percentage of students that excel in examinations