Stakeholders ’ attitude towards examination malpractices in Senior High Schools in the Volta Region of Ghana

This study, which is a survey, was designed to determine the attitude that the various education stakeholders have of examination malpractices. A sample of 600 educational stakeholders (comprising students, teachers, parents, school administrators) were drawn from 20 sampled public senior high schools in the Volta Region of Ghana using simple random, purposive, and stratified sampling techniques. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Data collected were treated with inferential statistics. Results of the study indicate that majority of education stakeholders’ attitude towards examination malpractice is unfavourable, as they see it as a crime that needs to be fought, but a worrisome minority have favourable attitude towards examination malpractice as they perceive it as a means of rendering help, meeting high expectations, boosting school image, and compensating for school inadequacies, and not as a factor in lowering education standard and self – concept. It is recommended that the most effective and efficient intervention strategy to curb examination malpractice should be adopted to check this menace. Introduction Examination has over the years become one of the basic characteristics of the school system. It is used as one of the important indices upon which many decisions about the learner, teacher and school are based. Thus, it is used to generate data for decision making about the examinee, the teacher and the school among others. In context, examination is the assessment of the examinee’s performance or behaviour with the use of series of questions, problems, tasks or situations in order to ascertain the amount or level or nature of knowledge, skills, attitudes or other behaviours that the individual has acquired, the extent to which he/she is able to utilize them or their quality and effectiveness (Azuru, 2004). It could be oral or written. Examination serves a number of purposes including certification, selection and accountability among others. Hence any act that undermines examinations poses a great threat to the validity and reliability of examination results and certification. Unfortunately, nowadays the process of examination in Ghanaian secondary schools has been bedevilled with rampant malpractices (West Africa Examination Council [WAEC], 2003). Thus, “examination malpractices” have, unfortunately, become one of the regular expressions and daunting issues in our school systems, not only in Ghana, but also in all parts of the world. According to Sooze (2004), examination malpractice (EM) is any wrong-doing before, during or after any examination. To Sooze (2004), examination malpractices are illegal means that students use to pass examinations. In the words of Azuru (2004), examination malpractice is any illegal act by the examinee or his agent(s) before, during or after examination with the intention of making the examinee have undue advantage or have an unmerited grade. Also the WAEC (2003) defines examination malpractice as any irregular behaviour exhibited by candidates or anybody charged with the responsibility of conducting examination in or outside the examination hall, before, during or after such examination. Examination Malpractices Act of 1999 in Nigeria defines examination malpractice as any act of omission or commission by a person who in anticipation of, before, during or after any examination Stakeholders’ attitude towards examination malpractice 36 fraudulently secures any 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, authenticity of the examination and ultimately the integrity of the certificates issued (Olatunbosun, 2009). In Ghana, the last decade has witnessed an alarming rate of increase in incidence of examination misconduct. Evidence abounds of increased involvement in examination malpractices. Accusing fingers have been pointed at some stakeholders students, teachers, parents and school administrations as well as invigilators as being agents of this canker (Ijaiya, 2007). The incidence of examination malpractices has become so widespread that there is virtually no examination anywhere in Ghana, at any level and outside the formal school system, that there is no one form of ‘sharp practice’ or the other (Ijaiya, 2007). Like HIV/AIDS, examination malpractice is real and common everywhere and every examination season witnesses the emergence of new and ingenious ways of cheating (Ijaiya, 2007). The third president of the fourth republic of Ghana, the late Prof. J. E. A. Mills, described the spate of examination malpractices in the country as a disturbing development in the landscape of Ghana and appealed to civil society, the church and parents to help inculcate desirable noble and pure attitudes in students (Ghana News Agency, 2009).