The Association Of Tutorial Schools Operators of Nigeria (ATSO), has urged the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) and the National Examination Council (NECO) to adopt Computer Based Test (CBT) to curb examination malpractices in the country.
ATSO National President, Comrade Sodunke Oludotun Michael who made the call during the Annual Convention of the Association in Ibadan, Oyo State over the weekend, maintained that the members of ATSO are marshals against exam malpractice in Nigeria.
Sodunke appealed to these exam bodies to take a cue from the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) who has already adopted the Computer Based Test which he described as a standard way of curbing exam malpractice in the country.
According to him, “the issue of exam malpractice in Nigeria is a problem that has been reoccurring from time to time in the country and as long as there is exam malpractice in the country cannot be fixed.
“Recently we’ve been working with government and I can say that JAMB is doing wonderfully well, professor Isaq Oloyede has been able to curb malpractice to a visibly minimum.
“In JAMB today there is no malpractice, but in WAEC, though they are trying their best, we are appealing to them to take a cue from JAMB, they should introduce CBT, NECO should also introduce it too, technology can curb exam malpractice”, he added.
The President further maintained that ATSO members are marshals against exam malpractices. “We agreed to work with every capacity to curb our students from exam malpractices.
“Those that are none members are the ones that don’t really like what we stand for, and what we stand for is zero tolerance to exam malpractice in all forms and by extension admission favouritism”, Sodunke said.
Speaking on ways out of this menace by the Association, the President said within the limited capacity they have started programs of eradicating exam malpractices with nationwide sensitization campaign.
“Telling the masses about the evil of exam malpractice, that they will soon have a banker that will not be able to balance one cash column book or having a surgeon that won’t be able to perform a single successful surgical operation and so on.
“We also discourage the youths on exam malpractices through a program that we introduced called The Most Brilliant Students in Nigeria, we look at some TV shows like big brothers Nigeria that is not an academic program give out whopping money for the winners.
“And people who participated in other programs that are not academically related also earn so much which has made our youths to diverted towards such programs instead of facing their academic activities.
“We are the only education association that came up with a program of such where we gave out cars to our winners who are brilliant students and we’ve done three successful programs of such now.
“And as a result of that we are making stars out of academics which contributed a lot as more children want to become the most brilliant student and they are now facing their studies very hard”, he said.
In his vote of thanks, the ATSO Governor, Lagos State Chapter, doubled as the Chairman Committee of Governors, Abiona Kayode urged the government to embrace the association as the one that deal with the teenagers, the ages of 14 to 22 who represent the setting of non-formal educational.
He charged the newly inaugurated members of the board of trustees and the executive members to be dutiful in their duties.
“We expect the new Excos and the new members of the board of trustees inaugurated here today to be dutiful, as they now know their rules, regulations, work to details of the association and ensure that all their activities geared toward improving the welfare of the association at large”.
