By Tasi’u Hassan, Katsina
As the commencement of various certificate examinations approaches, members of the Anti-Corruption Community Development Service Group, Batagarawa Local Government of Katsina State, organized a detail-oriented sensitization programme for the students of Hassan Usman Katsina Comprehensive Secondary School, Batagarawa, Kastina State. The programme was aimed at educating students on the dangers and solutions of examination malpractices in schools.
Given the fact that examination malpractice is a bane in our schools, which is inspired by a number of factors, the group extended its gesture to students as a way of familiarizing them with the deadly implications of the practice.
The session, which lasted for more than one hour, was facilitated by Hamza Abdullahi, Ibrahim Ahmad Dayibu and Oladiipo Oyinlola Esther, all members of the group. Each of the speakers took the students through the manifold issues related to corrupt practices in schools.
“It is disheartening that students, in their bid to get undue advantage over others during and after examinations, take to examination malpractices. This, among many other factors, accounts for the preponderance of corrupt officers in almost all facets of the society”, one of the speakers said.
Talking on the forms and causes of examination malpractice as an ungodly act, Hamza Abdullahi shifted the attention of the audience to the role of parents, among many factors, in the educational life of students, noting that students often indulge in examination malpractices due to needless pressure from their parents. He, thus, reiterated the exigent need for parents to allow their children choose the best careers they can fit in, instead of deciding for them careers which they have less motivation for.
He also noted that students who take examination malpractice as the only way to pass examinations are mostly inattentive to studies. According to him, “Lack of readiness, fear of failure, overcrowding, etc. propels students to indulge in examination malpractice”.
In the same spirit, Ibrahim Ahmad Dayibu, who spoke on the dangers of examination malpractice, cited relatable effects of the despicable act on the students and the society at large.
“In most cases, he who engages in uncouth acts such as examination malpractice will end up sabotaging his credibility. Apart from the fact that victims of this practice often develop all sorts of dishonest acts unbecoming of responsible citizens, they also make bad leaders in the long run”, he noted.
Oladiipo Oyinlola Esther’s contribution essentially centered on ways to stop examination malpractices in schools. She mentioned the need for students to take their studies seriously. She also encouraged them to do away with fear of failure, charging them to make reading their hobby.
“Sucess in examinations is no mystery. The code is consistent reading. If you put your mind at it, it’s sure you will achieve it. Therefore, read decently, for that is a gateway to academic success”, she advised the students.
Mallam Isa Tanko, the local government inspector in Batagarawa, who spoke on behalf of the NYSC Kastina State, drew the attention of the students to the importance of diligence in and outside the school. He urged the leaders of tomorrow to distance themselves from all forms of examination malpractices and be rather committed to their studies, noting that hard work precedes excellence.
While commending the CDS group for its well-thought-of gesture, he urged the members to maintain the good spirit, stating that CDS is an important cornerstone of the scheme.
In his brief, after-lecture remark, the CDS president, Ambali Abdulkabeer, hammered both visible and invisible dangers of examination malpractices. He charged the students to be of good conduct and make their parents and the country proud by shunning any form of malpractices.
“I have not seen honest students losing. If you commit yourself to your studies, the reward is that you prosper. So do well to read. That is the only free passport to academic prosperity”, he advised the students.
Mallam Abdulrahman Maiwada, the principal of the school, appreciated the CDS group for its magnificent gesture, on behalf of the school. He expressed his unquantifiable happiness while encouraging corps members to keep being aggressive in their crusade to eradicate corruption in schools.
