By Suleiman Anyalewechi
Immediate past Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board, JAMB, Prof Ishaq Oloyede has expressed serious concern and regret that parents are the greatest enablers of examination malpractices among their children and wards.
On an Arise Television Interview, Oloyede, a University of Ilorin Professor of Islamic Studies, noted that over 90 percent of children involved in the acts of cutting corners in examinations are goaded into such odious practice by their parents and guardians.
He described the ugly development as his greatest challenge throughout his one decade sojourn at the Examination body.
According to him, experience has shown that most candidates are pressured by parents into indulging in fraudulent practices during examinations.
He lamented that parents, rather than encourage their children to subscribe to principles of integrity, honesty and hardwork, resort to introducing them to short-cuts and fraudulent means of achieving results.
Oloyede expressed serious disappointment that parents by introducing their children early to the world of crime, are wittingly, or unwittingly, ruining the future of the next generation of the country.
“They are introducing their wards, their children, to the world of crime. Most of the candidates are not problematic. They are not the real problem. The problems are the parents.
“And every time I was confronted with the reality of what parents were doing, most of the time, I became very emotional .
“How on earth will people hate themselves and hate their future to this level? Even if you have deficiencies, you wouldn’t want to pass them to the next generation. But that is what many parents are doing?
“I must confess that the most painful period of my tenure at JAMB was coming to observe the involvement of parents and guardians in arranging examination malpractices for their children and wards”, Oloyede lamented.
According to the former JAMB boss, the celebrated case involving Nmesoma from Anambra’ State who inflated her scores was one of the numerous cases of examination fraud handled during his tenure.
He emphasized that candidates like Nmesoma whose score was manipulated to fraudulently earn her the top spot, were, and still supported by their parents and guardians.
“Nmesoma’s case was just sensationalised by some people who felt they were defending that. We met more than 10 Nmesoma cases.
“Even last year, somebody still attempted something like that. We deal with such situations. It was a normal thing to us. Unfortunately, the sensation that came along with Mmesoma’s case made it unique to others who were outside the institution ( JAMB)
The Source reports that a couple years ago, Oloyede had announced the arrest and detention of father and son who were involved in examination malpractice at one of the centres in Kaduna.
The father was said to have personally came to sit for the examination for the son, a development that left Oloyede wondering how the father, with his tight schedule, could be more prepared for the exercise than his son.
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