DEVELOPING STRATEGY TO TACKLE THE CHALLENGE OF EXAMINATION MISMANAGEMENT AND MALPRACTICE IN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION IN THE NORTH-WEST GEO-POLITICAL ZONE, NIGERIA

Abstract

Colleges of Education as teachers training institutions in Nigeria have already established policies on the management of examinations but, examination malpractices are still prevailing. Tackling this menace of examination malpractices there is needs for practical strategies different from what is already in operation in Colleges of Education. The purpose of this study was to develop strategies to effectively tackle examination mismanagement and malpractice in Colleges of Education in the North-West Geo-political Zone of Nigeria. The institutional theory and deterrence theory guided the study. The sample size for this study constituted 836 from the total number of 8,360 populations.  Proportionate stratified sampling was used to select lecturers and students, simple random sampling for Exams admin officer and further purposive sampling for Deans of schools and Deputy Provosts Academics. The study adopted a mixed methods design. The data was collected using questionnaires, interview schedules, focused group discussions and document analysis. The reliability of the instrument was tested using the Cronbach’s Alpha method and an index value of 0.742 was obtained. The Quantitative Data from the questionnaires were analyzed using frequency count, mean score and the Qualitative Data from interview and focus group discussion were analyzed using transcribed verbatim acquired from the audio recordings. The findings reveal that, students fear of failure, poor invigilation among others are the main factors contributing to examination mismanagement and malpractice. Also, Colleges of Education has already clear policies they are using to reduce exams mismanagement and malpractice and this have shown some success in reducing overt cases of malpractice but their overall effectiveness is limited due to systemic challenges. Finally, increasing the penalties for examination malpractice, improving invigilators training, using biometric identification, installing CCTV cameras in exam halls, increasing public awareness of examination malpractice, and strengthening exam material security procedures are some of the major strategies to mitigate examination mismanagement and malpractice in Colleges of Education. The study recommended installation of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras in examination halls to deter malpractice and improvement of invigilation processes among others.