By Isaac Kertyo, Makurdi
Benue State Examinations Board says it will clamp down on schools that indulge in examination malpractice to serve as a deterrent to others.
Acting Executive Secretary, Benue State Examinations Board, Mr Ayolave Paul who gave this indication in an interview harped that drastic measures will be taken against schools or candidates caught in the act.
“We employed supervisors, adhoc staff, we believe these are credible teachers that can supervise our exams, but we discovered that they sell out our exams to schools. When they are caught, we blacklist them and concel the said subject and one other subject to serve as a deterrent to others. When you are caught in examination malpractice, you register per paper per candidate.”
The Executive Secretary maintained that one of the ways to curb exam malpractice is for the board to acquire printing machines. “We like to be self sufficient, that’s the major problem. We will be happy if we are printing our exam materials in our office. This will save cost and there will be security of our materials because given this outside to contractors may create room for leakages.”
He appealed to government to provide the board with printing machines for effective service delivery, promising that the board under his watch would do everything humanly possible to curtail exam malpractice.”
The Executive Secretary Implored schools to shun examination malpractice or face the full wrath of the law, warning that no school or individual will be sparred if caught in the act.
He enumerated the myriad of challenges bedeviling the board, including; lack of office accommodation, lack of finance, insufficient manpower, lack of vehicles for field work among others, adding that he would accord staff welfare topmost priority.
The Executive Secretary further assured that the board will start issuing certificates to candidates unlike in the past where candidates were not issued certificates, noting that the current registration fees for Basic Education Certificate Exam, BECE, which is currently N3500, per candidate should be increased to N5000 to enable them handle exams appropriately.
He pledged his unalloyed loyalty to the Alia’s administration to enable it succeed.
