Examination Malpractice in Secondary Schools in Nigeria: What Sustains It?

In Nigeria, the last two decades have witnessed an alarming rate of increase in incidents of examination misconduct especially at secondary school level. Evidences abound of increasing incidents of examination malpractice by students, teachers and parents. Examination malpractice has become so widespread that there is virtually no examination anywhere at all levels and even outside the formal school system that there is no one form of sharp practice or the other. Every examination season witnesses the emergence of new and ingenious ways of cheating. This paper addresses the problem of examination malpractice in secondary schools in Nigeria, what sustains it, the consequences of examination malpractice and the ways through which examination malpractice could be curbed in order to give credibility to the examination process in the country.