Commendation has been made to the Federal Government for arresting and prosecuting a 10-man examination fraud syndicate which is known for forging and racketeering NECO certificates.
The Coordinator of the Joint Education Stakeholders Coalition (JESAC), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), Mr Ike Onyechere, made the commendation today in Abuja. The State Security Services (SSS) in Niger had, after series of operations, tracked down and arrested members of the syndicate led by one Kashim Tahid.
The syndicate comprised of three staff of NECO who supplied the syndicate with past candidate numbers, their corresponding names and data base to forge results. “This is a proof that examination boards have been infiltrated by exam fraud syndicates, aided and abetted by imbedded staff members.
“Unless these syndicates are continuously identified and flushed out, it will be impossible to conduct credible public examinations in Nigeria,” Onyechere said. He attributed the development to poor learning outcomes across all levels of education. “In the last Measurement of Learning Assessment test organised by UNESCO for primary four and five pupils drawn from 22 African countries, Nigeria came last.
“The average pass rate in Senior Secondary Certificate Examinations conducted by WAEC and NECO in the last five years is 22.7 per cent. Tertiary institutions ranked low in global ranking indices,’’ Onyechere said. The coordinator, therefore, called for an urgent reform of the education sector which, he said, was not receiving enough attention in the on-going constitution review process.
He said JESAC, while condemning the killing of students in various parts of the country, was calling on stakeholders in the sector to join forces with government to enhance security of education environment. “All stakeholders, including law enforcement agencies, educational institutions and host communities must work together to bring perpetrators of these wicked acts to justice,” he said.
JESAC is a voluntary association of 19 critical unions and organisations that cut across Nigeria’s education sector, including primary, post-primary and tertiary.