Examination; The Vicious Cycle Of Corruption

We understand school as a special institution which is established and mandated by the society, purposely to train and educate her members to acquire relevant knowledge, skills, values and attitudes. These are essential tools needed by every member of the society for positive transformation.

To assess and measure the extent to which school is fulfilling its mandate, examination has been instituted by the society, where the greater score is seen as a reflection of good performance of both the school and the students. In most cases, reward and good name are associated with good performance. Also, the head and subject masters take praise and otherwise of students performance. Not only this but the district education directors and government of the day all show keen interest in doing everything possible to let students pass just score political point. As a result, the school through the teachers skilfully trains students to be smart during examination to achieve excellent performance, which satisfies the wishes of the subject and headmasters, district directors of education and government of the day. Therefore these architects come into play to ensure that students achieve excellent performance, even if they have to be dubious.

What goes on during final examination is an insult to the school as a social institution and mockery of the society. The practice where invigilators are bought with paltry prices such as sex, pesewas and edibles to allow candidates to send foreign materials to examination centres is known. The practice where invigilators leak examination questions out, solve and give them to candidate to copy in exchange of paltry price is known. The practice where schools and masters liaise with some officials of the examining body to get questions before time is known. The practice where supervisors and external invigilators are bought with the courtesy of drinking tea at head's office to allow candidates and invigilators to battle with malpractices is known. These practices reflect in the excellent performance of candidates and put a smile on our faces and convinced the society that indeed, the school is on track.

The result of such practices is the production of first-class graduates who are enemies to service and productivity but very smart and expert in corruption. The practice informs students of easy way in life and illegal shortcuts to success. The practice exposes the school and it architects as a corrupt institution and individuals who could be bought with anything cheap. It allows students to be corrupt because they are trained as such.

The social implication of these practices is that the school successfully produces graduates who are experts in corruption and who come to occupy and work in various institutions of society. With their corrupt nature, they come to cement the corrupt practices that go on in their workplace. These corrupt officials later in life form a family and produce children with weak morals. These children also go to school and are socialised to be corrupt by the school through the final examination. Hence the society is seen in operating a vicious cycle of corruption where each round of the cycle aggravates the corrupt nature of our society.

• The school (examination)
• Produce children
• Corrupt graduates
• Cement corrupt practices
• Occupy various institutions

Each round of the cycle increases in the aggravation of corruption

The school and its architects think they are doing candidate a favour while the candidates think they are being helped. However, in the end, they will all find themselves in social hell of corruption where there are mistrust and suspicion of every social endeavour. Life is said to be a transition. Teachers and candidates may find themselves in different capacities elsewhere in the unknown future, but due to our previous practice in school, there is ink on our character and human dignity which works against us.

From the vicious cycle of corruption, the only means of breaking through is the school. Therefore school should realise this potent power and fulfil it a genuine mandate for our own betterment and that of posterity.

By SAMIULLAH ADAMS