Oyo govt may enforce Exam Malpractice Act- TESCOM boss

By Emmanuel Adeleke

The Executive Chairman, Oyo State Post-Primary Teaching Service Commission (TESCOM), Pastor Akinade Alamu, has said the state government may start enforcing the Examination Malpractice Act, as enshrined in the 1999 Federal Constitution.

Alamu stated this while speaking to newsmen in Ibadan, the state capital, on Tuesday

The Act stipulates a three years’ jail term or fine of N100, 000 or both for anyone caught and found guilty of compromising exam ethics in the country.

According to the TESCOM boss, the government has so far adopted administrative measures in addressing examination malpractices in the state, adding that the war against such act by the present administration is being won.

Recall that the Oyo State Government had recently suspended some teachers over alleged examination malpractices during the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WAEC).

Alamu, who expressed joy over the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and other teaching bodies support, emphasised that the state government would not hesitate to ensure that the laws guiding the conduct of public exams in the country takes its full course.

He said examination malpractice had reduced drastically under Makinde’s administration, adding that the government’s aim is to the totally eliminate exam malpractices in the state.

On granting the erring teachers pardon, Alamu said the state government has received appeals from traditional rulers, as well as stakeholders in the education sector.

He, however, said the state government has not taken final decision on whether to pardon the erring teachers.

“When we came on board, we decided that this problem should be nipped in the bud and we started sanctioning the erring teachers and principals. So we have done it for 2-3years now, suspending teachers that were involved and we want you to understand that examination malpractice is criminal.

“At the end we took administrative steps to address the issues and when we did it, there had been appeals and pleadings from various quarters.

“We respect Nigerian Teachers and they are very good partners of TESCOM and Oyo State Government. We have seen that NUT has been a very responsible trade union, with this we may consider their request to pardon the teachers,” he said.