President Muhammadu Buhari has asked the West African Examination Council (WAEC) to redesign its curriculum to support core skills and emerging technology that will improve talents and deepen learning.
Buhari, who was represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, stated this on Tuesday at the 70th Annual Council Meeting of WAEC in Abuja, noting that essential skills are needed by African students to be competitive.
He identified issues the council would likely face in future as Africa continental free trade and stressed the role of technology.
The President also lamented the spark of examination malpractice and charged the council to spare no effort in its fight against the act.
“Examination cheats will end up as charlatans in whatever field or profession they find themselves in. In hospitals, they will be butchers instead of surgeons and in academia, they will plagiarize and bully their students into accepting whatever they offer, thus stifling enquiry and initiative by inquisitive students.
He said, “As builders, they will build bridges that will cave in before the project is commissioned and (build) storey buildings which will collapse on their occupants.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria has played its part by enacting a law, the draft to which you contributed as a major stakeholder on examination malpractice. The examination malpractices Decree no 33 of May 1999 (now Examinations Malpractice Act of 1999) spells out the offences and penalties. The war on examination cheats must not only be stepped up, it must also be won.”
Speaking, the Minister of Education Malam Adamu Adamu represented by Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, said efforts had been geared towards providing infrastructural facilities and teaching aids that will support learning within limited available resources.
He expressed deep displeasure over the endemic phenomenon of examination malpractice, which he said had continued to pervade all sectors of the educational system.
“We strongly appeal to not only the council but to all stakeholders to embark on a concerted effort to stem the vice. We urge management of the council not to rest on its oars in evolving strategies and initiatives that would eliminate the incidence of examination malpractice in West African Senior Secondary Certificate Examination.”
Adamu, however, commended the council for effective release of results before the set date and for making the certificate available within 48 hours.
