Paul Osuyi, Asaba
Delta Government said it has opted for the use of senior officers and a few middle level manpower in the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education as examination monitors for Senior School Certificate Examinations in the state.
The measure, according to the government, is to reduce or completely eliminate incidence of malpractice by candidates.
Commissioner in charge of the Ministry, Patrick Ukah, who stated this in Asaba during a meeting with stakeholders in education, said the decision was for the sake of the integrity of the monitors, warning that any of them found wanting would be sanctioned appropriately.
He frowned at situations in the past where a number of monitors carried out the exercise casually, thereby allowing schools and candidates to perpetuate examination malpractice.
Ukah revealed that chief inspectors of education (CIEs) in the 25 local government areas will be swapped to other local government areas during the monitoring period.
He said examination malpractice in schools had taken a new dimension as new trend had been evolved outside the traditional method, but assured the ministry would not be deterred in its efforts to ensure the menace was completely eradicated from the educational system.
The commissioner said all hands must be on deck to achieve this and urged all monitors and appointed agents to be committed and sincere in the discharge of their duties.
Ukah said the state government bore in mind the negative results associated with examination malpractice and had tried to provide the necessary incentives and infrastructural facilities to ensure quality was improved and examination malpractice banished from schools.