Index

ABSTRACT

This study derives from the observed huge losses incurred yearly by students, parents, schools, exam bodies and government due to examination misconducts. Two research questions and two null hypotheses had been formulated to guide the investigation. The populace of the study comprised 6,165 teachers, which includes principals that had been made up of 4, 518 males and 1,647 females from 245 senior secondary school in Nasarawa State. The multi-stage stratified random sampling process was used to pick out a sample of 600 teachers consisting of 320 males and 280 females from sixteen (16) senior secondary schools in Nasarawa State. A 17-item structured Likert scale developed by the researcher and validated by specialists was used. The studies questions were answered using descriptive statistics, while the hypotheses were tested with t-test statistics at 0.05 alpha. Results indicated that the two hypotheses had been not rejected because the t-test value of -1.063 and -1.052 for hypotheses 1 and 2 of respectively have been much less than the sig. (2.tailed) values of 0.288. This signified that both male and female teachers, and teachers from city and rural schools had the same perception in curbing examination misconduct among secondary school students in Nasarawa State. Based on the findings, the following recommendations have been made: Government need to provide adequate laboratory apparatus and library for students; teachers have to continually evaluate their students regularly; school principals ought to religiously perform their responsibilities and good enough supervision by the Ministry of Education of the State to curtail examination misconduct in Nasarawa state.

Keywords: Quality Education, Assurance, Examination Misconduct.

DOI: 10.20448/801.44.546.558

Citation | Uwelo, Danladi (2019). Perception of Teachers on the Role of Quality Assurance in Curbing Examination Misconduct among Secondary School Students in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. American Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 4(4): 546-558.

Copyright: This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License

Funding : This study received no specific financial support.

Competing Interests: The author declares that there are no conflicts of interests regarding the publication of this paper.

History : Received: 18 July 2019 / Revised: 2 September 2019 / Accepted: 9 October 2019 / Published: 31 October 2019 .

Publisher: Online Science Publishing

Highlights of this paper

  • This study derives from the observed huge losses incurred yearly by students, parents, schools, exam bodies and government due to examination misconducts.
  • The populace of the study comprised 6,165 teachers, which includes principals that had been made up of 4, 518 males and 1,647 females from 245 senior secondary school in Nasarawa state.
  • Based on the findings, the following recommendations have been made: Government need to provide adequate laboratory apparatus and library for students; teachers have to continually evaluate their students regularly; school principals ought to religiously perform their responsibilities and good enough supervision by the Ministry of Education of the State to curtail examination misconduct in Nasarawa state.

1. INTRODUCTION

Quality education is now an issue of global concern. As the Nigerian stakeholders' attention is increasingly focused on the outcomes of education, policymakers have undertaken a wide range of reforms to improve schools and schooling, ranging from setting new standards and tests to redesigning of schools, new curricula and new instructional strategies. Rising expectations about what students should know and be able to do, break-through in research on how children learn, and the increasing diversity of the student population have all put significant pressure on the knowledge and skill teachers must have to achieve the ambitious goal demanded of public education. That goal is to ensure that children of all backgrounds master a demanding core curriculum and other materials that will prepare them to assume their civic and social responsibilities in a democratic society, and be able to compete within the global economy. Quality education, according to Olukolade and Chinonyerem (2013) is: “measured by the extent to which the training received from an institution enables the recipient to think clearly, independently and analytically to solve relevant societal problems in any given environment” (p. 17). There is the general feeling that the quality of education imparted with curricula that are limited to parochial concerns may no longer be adequate in the face of prevailing global situations.  Hence, quality factors in education are indispensable for excellence in education and for the development of the human resource base needed to catapult Nigeria into an enviable position in the comity of nations through quality assurance.

Quality assurance in education deals with proactive means of ensuring the quality of inputs, teaching-learning process, the academic achievement of students and school environment before things get out of hands Babalola (2004). Thus, an education system of high quality should have high-quality students, teachers, facilities, school curriculum, and government policies as inputs. How the inputs are processed from the beginning to the final years of an educational programme and the quality of assessment of the entire teaching-learning activities also constitute important aspects of quality assurance. It can also be view as consistently meeting product specifications or getting things right first time and every time. Quality assurance in the school system implies the ability of the schools to meet the expectations of the users of the graduate concerning the quality of skills acquired by their outputs (Ajayi and Adegbesan, 2007). It can also be said to be the ability of the schools to meet certain criteria relating to academic matters, staff-students ratio, staff mix by rank, staff development, physical facilities, funding, and adequate library facilities. At the tertiary level of education, adequacy of various inputs in the university system, in terms of quality and quantity, exercises tremendous influence on quality assurance. Quality assurance is a key component of successful internationalization mechanism for building an institutional reputation in a competitive local and global arena and necessary foundation of students to write the examination without phobia or anxiety of failure (NUC, 2007). Examination process in Nigerian schools is faced with structural uncertainties. This is because of the phenomenon of examination misconduct that has become endemic in the educational system. The Examination Misconduct Act (Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999) explains examination misconduct as any act of omission or commission by a person who in anticipation of, before, during or after any examination fraudulently secure an unfair advantage for himself or any other person in such a manner that contravenes the rules and regulations to the extent of undermining the validity, reliability, and authenticity of the examination and ultimately the integrity of the certificates issued. Oluyeba and Daramola (2005) cited in Alutu and Aluede (2006) remarks that examination misconduct is any irregular behaviour exhibited by a candidate or anybody charged with the conduct of examination before, during or after the examination, that contravenes the rules and regulations governing the conduct of such examination. Examination misconduct continues to grow at all levels of the educational system. It has become an incurable disease in the educational system, making nonsense of the educational standard. There is a great need for Nigeria to look for a permanent solution in this millennium if education is going to be the catalyst for national development and if Nigerian certificates are going to be respected in this era of globalization; there is need for researchers or academia to seek the opinion of teachers in order to curb this menace in our educational sectors.

Teachers must work consciously by ensuring that they attend school and classes regularly. They should go to the classes to teach the students what they are supposed to teach as stated in the scheme of work. They should endeavour to bring the content of the study to the real-life situation with the use of relevant teaching materials. Teachers should also go extra miles to re-teach difficult topics. He/she can assist the weaker students by adopting peer tutoring methods. This can be done by pairing the weak student(s) with another student(s) who is/are knowledgeable in a particular topic or subject.

It is pertinent to stress that teachers are expected to provide guidance service to the students. Students need to be guided in the choice of subject combination putting into consideration their career aspiration, capability and personality traits. Most students register for subjects that do not align with their career aspiration, capability and personality traits and they end up performing poorly or having credit passes in subjects that are not in consonant with their ambition. Most importantly, teachers should equip themselves with relevant information on educational, vocational and health-related issues so that they can be in a better position to assist their students.  Teachers should instill in the students' good morals, as well as the value and culture of their society. They should make students realise that there is value for truthfulness, honesty and hard work.

2. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

This study derives from the observed huge losses incurred annually by schools, parents, government, examination bodies and students as a result of examination misconducts.  Thousands of students' results are either withheld or cancelled annually in public examinations. Many innocent students are punished unjustly in the event of mass cancellation of results as a result of mass cheating. Many students become frustrated in life. At both secondary and tertiary levels, many students are rusticated for a good number of years and quite a reasonable number of expelled from schools as a result of examination misconducts. It is evident that the performance of students is not improving and examination malpractice is still on the increase (Onuka and Durowoju, 2013). The damage it has done to our education system is grave and thus calls for urgent steps to redress the situation. The situation calls for going to the root cause of the problem before the remedy can be found. One of the options is to find out the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconducts among secondary school students in a State as perceived by the secondary school teachers.

Based on the foregoing problems, the researcher decided to assess the perception of teachers on the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct among secondary school students in Nasarawa State.

3. STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The purpose of the study was to assess the perception of teachers on the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconducts among secondary school students in Nasarawa State. Specifically, the study sought to:

  1. Examine the influence of gender on teachers' perception of the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct among secondary school students in Nasarawa State.
  2. Determine the influence of school location in terms of urban/rural dichotomy on the teachers' perception of the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct among secondary school students in Nasarawa State.

4. RESEARCH QUESTIONS

For this study, the following research questions were raised for guidance:

  1. What is the influence of gender on teachers' perception of the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct among secondary school students in Nasarawa State?
  2. What is the influence of school location in terms of urban/rural dichotomy on the teachers' perception of the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct among secondary school students in Nasarawa State?

5. STATEMENT OF HYPOTHESES

The following null hypotheses were formulated and tested at 0.05 level of significance:

Ho1: There is no significant difference between the perception of male teachers and that of female teachers on the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct among secondary school students in Nasarawa State.

Ho2: There is no significant difference between the perception of teachers from urban schools and that of their counterparts in rural schools on the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct among secondary school students in Nasarawa State.

6. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The findings of the study will hopefully contribute significantly to the current body of knowledge on the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct among secondary schools both in theory and practice. This is because the findings and recommendations of the study will form a base for the government to make policies involving teachers in curbing the menace of examination misconducts in secondary schools to ensure meaningful national development. The outcome of the study will also be significant to the teachers, hopefully, who have been engaged in examination misconducts together with their students by committed in teaching so that students can acquire deep knowledge that will enable them to pass the examination without recourse to examination misconducts. Also, it will hopefully contribute significantly to parents who have been engaged in examination misconduct together with their wards would see the reason to stand to their responsibility as parents to curb this menace that could rob the future of their children and even generations unborn.

Findings from the study are of benefit to students who are the victims of examination misconduct since they would settle down to utilize the facilities and study hard thereby, equipping themselves to shun examination misconduct. Even the examination bodies (WAEC/NECO) would have reference points to provide special welfare package for their examination officials to discourage them from financial and material inducements from students, parents and others who may want to subvert examination process.  These examination officials include teachers who invigilate examinations, supervisors who oversee the conduct of examinations in schools, officers of examination bodies who monitor the conduct of examinations and law enforcement agents who provide security at examination centres. Finally, the finding of the study might serve as a source of research material to other researchers who may embark on similar or related research studies.

7. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

This study adopted a survey research design.  This design is considered suitable because it assisted in the collection of data to establish the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct as perceived by secondary school teachers. The population of this study comprised 6,165 teachers including principals that are made up of 4,518 males and 1,647 females from 245 senior secondary schools in the State.

The sample for this study consisted of 600 teachers (320 males and 280 females) from 16 senior secondary schools in Nasarawa State. The multi-stage process was used to select the respondents for the study. At the first stage, a simple random sampling method was used and 8 area inspectorates out of 16 area inspectorates in Nasarawa State were randomly selected representing 50% of the area inspectorates. At the second stage, the same method was used and 2 senior secondary schools were randomly selected from each selected inspectorate area. At the third stage, teachers were stratified along male/female dichotomy, because the schools do not have an equal number of teachers and each school donated 50% to the sample of its population by simple random sampling procedure to select 320 male and 280 female teachers respectively.The researcher developed a 17-item structured instrument for data collection from teachers/principals. The instrument was called ‘Questionnaire on the Role of Quality Assurance in curbing Examination Misconduct among Secondary School Students’ (QUROQAEMSSS). QUROQAEMSSS is made up of two sections; section ‘A’ contained 2 items in form of bio-data of teachers (school location and Gender). Section ‘B’ consists of 15 items that express the roles of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct among secondary school students. QUROQAEMSSS is based on the modified Likert scale gave as follows: SA = Strongly Agree, A = Agree, D = Disagree and SD = Strongly Disagree in the question. Questionnaire on the Role of Quality Assurance in curbing Examination Misconduct among Secondary School Students (QUROQAEMSSS) was subjected to experts' judgment for validation. Experts in Measurement and Evaluation validated the instrument by checking for appropriateness, the relevance of the items, clarity of expression and in addition to content and face validity of the instrument. The mean of the consensus of their ratings gave a 0.84 index of logical validity.Questionnaire on the Role of Quality Assurance in curbing Examination Misconduct among Secondary School Students (QUROQAEMSSS) was trial tested on a small portion of the target population who are not part of the sampled respondents. The instrument was pilot-tested on 50 teachers.  This was to determine the reliability of the instrument. Cronbach coefficient Alpha method of estimating reliability was employed to compute coefficients of internal consistency. The reliability coefficient was 0.82 which is strong enough for a good instrument.The instrument was administered by the researchers with prior arrangement with the school authority concerned. The consent of the teachers was sought, the privacy of information and other ethical assurances were guaranteed to the teachers. Immediately, the researcher administered the instrument. Freedom to ask questions for clarification was granted and sufficient time was given to the respondents. However, respondents were not allowed to interact with one another in the process of responding to the items so that to maintain independent responses. Subsequently, completed questionnaires were collected at once for the analysis thereby representing 100% retrieval. Simple frequency count and percentage were used to analyze the data. Also, t-test analysis was used to test the null hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance.

8. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Research Question 1: What is the influence of gender on teachers' perception of the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct among secondary school students in Nasarawa State?
The responses to the items in the questionnaire were collated into frequencies and their respective relative frequencies in percentages for analysis and presented in Table 2.
Below are some important highlights in Table 1:

  1. 78.2% of the male teachers and 100% of the female teachers were of the view that adequate supervision during the examination period will minimize the rate of examination misconduct in secondary schools.
  2. 89.4% of the male teachers and 96.4% of the female teachers assert that ensuring teachers use suitable teaching methods could be a right step toward curbing examination misconduct.
  3. 99.4% of the male teachers and 100% of the female teachers believed that the proper keeping of students’ academic records could control examination misconduct in secondary schools.
  4. 99.3% of the male teachers and 100% of the female teachers asserted that the provision of equipped libraries for students could minimize examination misconduct in secondary schools.
  5. 41% of the male teachers and 100% of the female teachers asserted that standard classrooms will reduce the incidence of examination misconduct among secondary schools.
  6. 100% of the male and female teachers used for the study asserted that routine inspection of schools by quality assurance officers could curtail examination misconduct in secondary schools.
  7. 89.4% of the male teachers and 100% of the female teachers were of the view that proper delivery of lessons could reduce examination misconduct.
  8. 78.2% of the male teachers and 96.4% of the female teachers viewed that maintaining the recommended teacher-students ratio in the classroom will not control examination misconduct in secondary schools.
  9. 64.4% of the male teachers and 100% of the female teachers viewed that conducting seminars and workshop for teachers on matters relating to examination misconducts could be a step towards curbing examination in secondary schools.
  10. 64.4% of the male teachers and 96.4% of the female teachers agreed that ensuring the standard is maintained in science laboratories before examination commence will not control examination misconduct among secondary schools.
  11. 99.4% of the male and 78.2% of the female teachers were of the view that teachers’ strict adherence to the official curriculum could reduce the rate of examination misconduct in secondary schools.
  12. 99.7% of the male and 100% of the female teachers used for the study were of the view that to reduce the rate of examination misconducts, teachers need to assess their students regularly.
  13. 59.1% of the male and100% of the female teachers viewed that frequent monitoring of school activities by the Area Inspectorate office could help in curbing examination misconduct in secondary schools.
  14. 100% of both male and female teachers agreed that the establishment of ‘National Secondary Education Commission’ to regulate the activities of secondary schools could reduce the rate of examination misconducts in secondary schools.
  15. 89.4% of the male teachers and 100% of the female teachers viewed that school administrators religiously performing their duties could reduce the rate of examination misconducts.
Table-1 . Descriptive Statistics on the influence of male and female teachers’ responses on the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct in Nasarawa State.
S/N
The variable opinion of teachers (Item)
Male teachers
Female teachers
 
 
SA
A
D
SD
Total
SA
A
D
SD
Total
1
Adequate supervision during examination period will minimize the rate of examination misconduct in secondary schools.
250
(78.2)
0
(0)
42
(13.1)
28
(8.7)
320
(100)
23
(8.2)
257
(91.8)
0
(0)
0
(0)
280
(100)
2
Ensuring that teachers use suitable teaching methods could be a right step toward curbing examination misconduct.
217
(67.8)
68
(21.2)
30
(9.4)
5
(1.6)
320
(100)
70
(25.0)
200
(71.4)
3
(1.1)
7
(2.5)
280
(100)
3
Proper keeping of students’ academic records could control examination misconduct in secondary schools.
18
(5.6)
300
(93.8
2
(0.6)
0
(0)
320
(100)
189
(67.5)
91
(32.5)
0
(0)
0
(0)
280
(100)
4
Provision of equipped libraries for students could minimize examination misconduct in secondary schools.
300
(93.8)
19
(5.9)
1
(0.3)
0
(0)
320
(100)
80
(28.6)
200
(71.4)
0
(0)
0
(0)
280
(100)
5
Standard classrooms will not reduce the incidence of examination misconduct among secondary school students. 
100
(31.3)
89
(27.8)
92
(28.8)
39
(12.2)
320
(100)
0
(0)
0
(0)
108
(38.6)
172
(61.4)
280
(100)
6
Routine inspection of schools by quality assurance officers could curtail examination misconduct in secondary schools.
9
(2.8)
311
(97.2)
0
(0)
0
(0)
320
(100)
190
(67.9)
90
(32.1)
0
(0)
0
(0)
280
(100)
7
The proper delivery of lessons could reduce examination misconduct.
0
(0)
286
(89.4)
30
(9.4)
4
(1.2)
320
(100)
266
(95.0)
14
(5.0)
0
(0)
0
(0)
280
(100)
8
Maintaining the recommended teacher-students ratio in the classroom will not control examination misconduct in secondary schools.
250
(78.2)
0
(0)
42
(13.1)
28
(8.7)
320
(100)
70
(25.0)
200
(71.4)
3
(1.1)
0
(0)
280
(100)
9
Conducting seminars and workshop for teachers on matters relating to examination misconducts could be a step towards curbing examination in secondary schools.
0
(0)
206
(64.4)
87
(27.2)
27
(8.4)
320
(100)
23
(8.2)
257
(91.8)
0
(0)
0
(0)
280
(100)
10
Ensuring standard is maintained in science laboratories before examination commence will not control examination misconduct among secondary schools.
32
(10.0)
174
(54.4)
114
(35.6)
0
(0)
320
(100)
70
(25.0)
200
(71.4)
3
(1.1)
7
(2.5)
280
(100)
11
Teachers’ strict adherence to the official curriculum could reduce the rate of examination misconduct in secondary schools.
18
(5.6)
300
(93.8
2
(0.6)
0
(0)
320
(100)
219
(78.2)
0
(0)
37
(13.2)
24
(8.6)
280
(100)
12
To reduce the rate of examination misconducts, teachers need to assess their students regularly.
300
(93.8)
19
(5.9)
1
(0.3)
0
(0)
320
(100)
82
(29.3)
198
(70.7)
0
(0)
0
(0)
280
(100)
13
Frequent monitoring of school activities by the Area Inspectorate office could help in curbing examination misconduct in secondary schools.
100
(31.3)
89
(27.8)
92
(28.8)
39
(12.2)
320
(100)
80
(28.6)
200
(71.4)
0
(0)
0
(0)
280
(100)
14
Establishment of ‘National Secondary Education Commission’ to regulate the activities of secondary schools could reduce the rate of examination misconducts in secondary schools.
9
(2.8)
311
(97.2)
0
(0)
0
(0)
320
(100)
108
(38.6)
172
(61.4)
0
(0)
0
(0)
280
(100)
15
School administrators religiously performing their duties could reduce the rate of examination misconducts.
0
(0)
286
(89.4)
30
(9.4)
4
(1.2)
320
(100)
190
(67.9)
90
(32.1)
0
(0)
0
(0)
280
(100)

Research Question 2: What is the influence of school location in terms of urban/rural dichotomy on the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct among secondary school students in Nasarawa State?
The responses to the items in the questionnaire were collated into frequencies and their respective relative frequencies in percentages for analysis and presented in Table 2.
Some important highlights from Table 2:

  1. 98.3% of the urban school teachers and 62.7% of the rural school teachers agreed that adequate supervision during the examination period will minimize the rate of examination misconduct in secondary schools.
  2. 89% of the urban school teachers and 98.3% of the rural school teachers were of the view that ensuring that teachers use suitable teaching methods could be a right step toward curbing examination misconduct.
  3.  91% of the urban school teachers and 38.7% of the rural school teachers used for the study agreed that Proper keeping of students’ academic records could control examination misconduct in secondary schools.
  4.  97.3% of the urban school teachers and 55.6% of the rural school teachers viewed that provision of equipped libraries for students could minimize examination misconduct in secondary schools.
  5. 98.3% of the urban school teachers and 86% of the rural school teachers viewed that standard classrooms will not reduce the incidence of examination misconduct among secondary school students.
  6. 73.6% of the urban school teachers and 97% of the rural school teachers viewed that routine inspection of schools by quality assurance officers could curtail examination misconduct in secondary school students.
  7. 69% of the urban school teachers and 97% of the rural school teachers viewed that proper delivery of lessons could reduce examination misconduct.
  8. 54% of the urban school teachers and 73% of the rural school teachers asserted that maintaining the recommended teacher-students ratio in the classroom will control examination misconduct in secondary schools.
  9. 98.3% of both urban and rural school teachers asserted that conducting seminars and workshop for teachers on matters relating to examination misconducts could be a step towards curbing examination misconducts.
  10. 67.3% of the urban school teachers and 61.3%  of the rural school teachers selected for the study asserted that ensuring the standard is maintained in science laboratories before examination commence will control examination misconduct among secondary schools.
  11. 98.3% of both the urban and rural school teachers used for the study were agreed that teachers’ strict adherence to the official curriculum could reduce the rate of examination misconduct in secondary schools.
  12. 89% of the urban school teachers and 86% of the rural school teachers asserted that to reduce the rate of examination misconducts, teachers need to assess their students regularly.
  13. 93.3% of the urban school teachers and 92% of the rural school teachers were of the view that frequent monitoring of school activities by the Area Inspectorate office could help in curbing examination misconduct in secondary schools.
  14. 91% of both urban and rural school teachers asserted that the establishment of ‘National Secondary Education Commission’ to regulate the activities of secondary schools could reduce the rate of examination misconducts in secondary schools.
  15. 97.7% of the urban school teachers and 97% of the rural school teachers asserted that school administrators religiously performing their duties could reduce the rate of examination misconducts.
Table-2. Descriptive Statistics on teachers’ responses from urban and rural’ schools on the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct.
S/N
Item
Urban school teachers
Rural school teachers
 
 
SA
A
D
SD
Total
SA
A
D
SD
Total
1
Adequate supervision during examination period will minimize the rate of examination misconduct in secondary schools.
185
(61.6)
110
(36.7)
3
(1.0)
2
(0.7)
300
(100)
71
(23.7)
117
(39.0)
80
(26.6)
32
(10.7)
300
(100)
2
Ensuring that teachers use suitable teaching methods could be a right step toward curbing examination misconduct.
187
(62.3)
80
(26.7)
30
(10.0)
3
(1.0)
300
(100)
87
(29.0)
208
(69.3)
3
(1.0)
2
(0.7)
300
(100)
3
Proper keeping of students’ academic records could control examination misconduct in secondary schools.
125
(41.7)
148
(49.3)
22
(7.3)
5
(1.7)
300
(100)
59
(19.7)
57
(19.0)
138
(46.0)
46
(15.3)
300
(100)
4
Provision of equipped libraries for students could minimize examination misconduct in secondary schools.
142
(47.3)
150
(50.0)
4
(1.3)
4
(1.3)
300
(100)
97
(32.3)
70
(23.3)
80
(26.7)
40
(13.3)
300
(100)
5
Standard classrooms will not reduce the incidence of examination misconduct among secondary school students. 
195
(65.0)
100
(33.3)
5
(1.7)
0
(0)
300
(100)
62
(20.7)
196
(65.3)
40
(13.3)
2
(0.7)
300
(100)
6
Routine inspection of schools by quality assurance officers could curtail examination misconduct in secondary schools.
151
(50.3)
70
(23.3)
50
(16.7)
29
(9.7)
300
(100)
185
(61.7)
106
(35.3)
4
(1.3)
5
(1.7)
300
(100)
7
The proper delivery of lessons could reduce examination misconduct.
162
(54.0)
45
(15.0)
52
(17.3)
40
(13.3)
300
(100)
132
(44.0)
159
(53.0)
6
(2.0)
3
  1.  
300
(100)
8
Maintaining the recommended teacher-students ratio in the classroom will not control examination misconduct in secondary schools.
36
(12.0)
102
(34.0)
141
(47.0)
21
(7.0)
300
(100)
61
(20.3)
20
(6.7)
159
(53.0)
60
(20.0)
300
(100)
9
Conducting seminars and workshop for teachers on matters relating to examination misconducts could be a step towards curbing examination in secondary schools.
195
(65.
100
(33.3)
5
(1.7)
0
(0)
300
(100)
87
(29.0)
208
(69.3)
3
(1.0)
2
(0.7)
300
(100)
10
Ensuring standard is maintained in science laboratories before examination commence will not control examination misconduct among secondary schools.
52
(17.3)
46
(15.3)
162
(54.0)
40
(13.3)
300
(100)
59
(19.7)
57
(19)
138
(46.0)
46
(15.3)
300
(100)
11
Teachers’ strict adherence to the official curriculum could reduce the rate of examination misconduct in secondary schools.
185
(61.6)
110
(36.7)
3
(1.0)
2
(0.7)
300
(100)
94
(31.3)
201
(67.0)
4
(1.3)
0
(0)
300
(100)
12
To reduce the rate of examination misconducts, teachers need to assess their students regularly.
187
(62.3)
80
(26.7)
30
(10.0)
3
(1.0)
300
(100)
62
(20.7)
196
(65.3)
40
(13.3)
2
(0.7)
300
(100)
13
Frequent monitoring of school activities by the Area Inspectorate office could help in curbing examination misconduct in secondary schools.
100
(33.3)
181
(60.3)
13
(4.3)
6
(2.0)
300
(100)
180
(60.0)
96
(32.0)
20
(6.7)
4
(1.3)
300
(100)
14
Establishment of ‘National Secondary Education Commission’ to regulate the activities of secondary schools could reduce the rate of examination misconducts in secondary schools.
125
(41.7)
148
(49.3)
22
(7.3)
5
(1.7)
300
(100)
118
(39.3)
155
(51.7)
18
(6.0)
9
(3.0)
300
(100)
15
School administrators religiously performing their duties could reduce the rate of examination misconducts.
183
(61.0)
110
(36.7)
2
(0.7)
5
(1.7)
300
(100)
185
(61.7)
106
(35.3)
4
(1.3)
5
(1.7)
300
(100)

9. HYPOTHESES TESTING

Ho1: There is no significant difference between the perception of male teachers and that of female teachers on the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct among secondary school students in Nasarawa State.

Table-3. t-test analysis comparing the perception of teachers’ segregation by sex on the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct.
Variable
N
Mean ()
Std. (σ)
T
df
Sig. (2-tailed)
Male teacher
320
2.3304
.42655
Female teacher
280
2.3402
.44152
-1.063
598
.288

Table 3 showed the t-test statistics results for significant difference between the perception of male and female teachers on the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct among secondary school students in Nasarawa State. It is evident that at 0.05 level of significance and degree of freedom of 598, the t-test value of -1.063 which is less than the sig. (2.tailled) value of 0.288 was obtained. Therefore, since the T-value of the t-test is less than the sig. (2.tailled) value, the null hypothesis is not rejected. Indicating that, there is no significant difference between the perception of male and female teachers on the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct among secondary school students in Nasarawa state.

Ho2: There is no significant difference between the perception of teachers from urban schools and that of their counterparts in rural schools on the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct among secondary school students in Nasarawa State.

Table-4. t-test analysis comparison of the perception of teachers on the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct by school location.
Variable
N
Mean ()
Std. (σ)
T
df
Sig. (2-tailed)
Male teacher
320
2.3304
.42655
Female teacher
280
2.3402
.44152
-1.063
598
.288

Table 4 showed the t-test statistics results for significant difference between the perception of teachers from urban schools and their counterparts in rural schools on the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct among secondary school students in Nasarawa state. It is evident that at 0.05 level of significance and degree of freedom of 598, the t-test value of -1.052 which is less than the sig. (2tailed) value of 0.288 was obtained. Therefore, since the calculated value of t-test is less than sig. (2tailed) value, the null hypothesis is not rejected. This implies that there is no significant difference between the perception of teachers from urban schools and their counterparts in rural schools on the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct among secondary school students in Nasarawa State.

10. SUMMARY OF MAJOR FINDINGS

The study sustained the following major findings:

  1. It also reveals that the gender of the teachers influenced the teachers’ perception of the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct among secondary school students in Nasarawa State based on research question two (1) and chi-square statistics confirmed it that both male and female teachers have similar perception on the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct among secondary school students in the state.
  2. It shows that a greater percentage of teachers in the urban and rural schools perceived the role of quality assurance in curbing exams misconducts among senior secondary school teachers in Nasarawa State. This implied that there is no significant difference between the perception of teachers from urban schools and that of their counterparts in rural schools on the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct among secondary school students in the state.

11. DISCUSSION

In Table 1 and Table 2, most of the teachers were in high support of the quality assurance measures in curbing examination misconduct as follows:

A critical examination of these results shows that the teachers do have good understanding or perception of the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconducts among secondary schools in Nasarawa state.
Research question 1 seeks to know if there was influence by the gender of teachers on their perception on the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct among secondary school in Nasarawa State. Information to answer this was presented in Table 4 in frequencies and percentages of their responses to the questionnaire.

A cursory look at Table 1, one would see that the female teachers agreed in their responses more than the male teachers on items 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7,9,10, 12, 13, 14 and 15. This implies that the gender of the teachers influenced the teachers’ perception of the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct among secondary school students in the State.

And research question 2 seeks to study the influence of school location on the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct among secondary school students in Nasarawa State. Here, secondary school teachers were segregated into urban and rural dichotomy for ease of data analysis. Table 2 gave the descriptive statistics of teachers; responses for urban and rural schools, which were expressed in frequencies and percentages of teacher responses. A critical study of the table (items 1-15) reveals that a greater percentage of teachers in the urban schools perceived the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconducts higher than the rural school teachers. This may be due to their exposure to issues on exams conduct in seminars, conferences and other academic performance, which the rural school teacher does not have.

Based on the above discussion, the study revealed the various ways to curbing the menace of examination misconduct as perceived by teachers.  On the various ways to combat the menace of examination misconducts, teachers felt that examination misconduct could be curbed through frequent monitoring of school activities by quality  assurance unit of the Area Inspectorate Offices, establishment of ‘National Secondary Education Commission’ to regulate the activities of secondary schools,  teachers should assess their students regularly and proper delivery of lessons. The aforementioned method of curbing examination misconduct conforms to the ones listed by Oderinde (2004). It is expected that these remedies as suggested by teachers will go a long way in helping to check examination misconducts in our secondary schools.  Two null hypotheses were tested using the chi-square statistical methods at 0.05 level of significance.  The result showed that the two null hypotheses were not rejected; this signified that both teachers (male and female) do not differ in their perception of the reasons for students involvements in examination misconduct. These agreed with the finding. Also, the teachers held a comparable view on the approaches to control the danger since examination misconduct has to turn into an issue known and to which everybody is searching for a path forward. Thus, the teachers seem, by all accounts, to be comparative in their observation. They all agreed the danger ought to be managed inside of our educational system.

Finally, there were similar perceptions on the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct among secondary school students perceived by both urban and rural school teachers. This contradicts the findings of Adeyemi (2010) who found that the performance of students varying based on school location concerning the quality of the instructional materials. 

12. CONCLUSION

Based on the findings of this study, the following conclusions were drawn:

There is no significant difference between the perception of male teachers and that of female teachers on the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct among secondary school students in Nasarawa State.

There is no significant difference between the perception of teachers from urban schools and that of their counterparts in rural schools on the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct among secondary school students in Nasarawa State.

Conclusively, teachers do have good understanding or perception of the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconducts among secondary school students in the State. This implies that the gender of the teachers influenced the teachers’ perception of the role of quality assurance in curbing examination misconduct among secondary school students in Nasarawa State.

13. RECOMMENDATIONS

Based on the results of this study, these recommendations were made:

  1. The government should provide adequate equipment in science laboratories and libraries in secondary schools of the state based on research question one.
  2. Also, well-equipped functional libraries should be in place to promote good reading habit. Facilities, like chairs and amenities for basic needs, should be available and continuous assessment procedure should be given to students to ignite the zeal to study and develop self-confidence.
  3. School Administrators should religiously perform their duties.
  4. The government should establish the National Secondary Education Commission, equivalent to the National Universities Commission to regulate the activities of secondary schools.
  5. Finally, adequate steps should be taken by the state Ministry of Education on the frequent monitoring of the secondary school activities to curtail the situation in question.

REFERENCES

Adeyemi, E.D., 2010. Examination malpractices among secondary school students in Ondo State, Nigeria: Perceived causes and possible solutions. Journal of Education Administration and Policy Studies, 2(3): 48-55.

Ajayi, T. and S.O. Adegbesan, 2007. Quality assurance in the teaching profession. Paper Presented at a Forum on Emerging Issues in Teaching Professionalism in Nigeria (14-16 March) Akure, Ondo State.

Alutu, A.N.G. and O. Aluede, 2006. Secondary school students’ perception of examination misconducts and examination ethics. Journal of Human Ecology, 20(4): 295-300.Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/09709274.2006.11905942.

Babalola, J.B., 2004. Quality assurance and child-friendly strategies for improving public school effectiveness and teacher performance in a democratic Nigeria. Nigerian Association for Educational Administration and Planning Publications, 2004(1): 303-312.

Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999. The examination misconduct act No. 33 of 1999. Abuja: Federal Government Press.

NUC, 2007. Webometric ranking of world universities: Matters arising. Monday Memo Nuc Abuja, 5(11): 1-10.

Oderinde, B., 2004. Secondary education study in Lagos State. A Report of the State of Secondary Education in Lagos State.

Olukolade, O. and U.U. Chinonyerem, 2013. Falling standard of education as a threat to transformation, reform and development in Nigeria. African Higher Education Review, 7(1): 45-54.

Onuka, A.O.U. and E.O. Durowoju, 2013. Stakeholders role in curbing examination malpractice in Nigeria. International Journal of Economy, Management and Social Sciences, 2(6): 342-348

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