“Miracle Examination Centres” as hubs for malpractices in Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination in Nigeria: A systematic review

Agwu, Prince; Orjiakor, Charles T.; Odii, Aloysius; Onalu, Chinyere; Nzeadibe, Thaddeus Chidi; Roy, Pallavi; Onwujekwe, Obinna; Okoye, Uzoma O.

doi:10.1016/j.ijedudev.2021.102538

Cited by 5 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…With the increasing presence of MECs and the seeming loss of examination integrity in SSCEs, there have been suggestions to pull stakeholders into some tough conversations (Agwu et al, 2020(Agwu et al, /2022Nnam and Otu, 2015;Odidi, 2014).…”

Section: Assembly Have Charged Ecs and Moe To Sanction Defaulters Of ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These groups include the EC (NECO and WAEC), the MoE, school owners and teachers, civil society organizations (CSOs), value orientation agencies, and anticorruption and security institutions. These groups were identified in EM literature in Nigeria (Gbagolo, 2011;Jokthan, 2013;Kawugana and Woyopwa, 2017;Agwu et al, 2022). Students were not included as part of the stakeholders because of the potential inequity in power relations and differences between them and other stakeholders.…”

Section: Participants' Recruitmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…But because of the intricate network of actors that drive and sustain activities of MECs, solutions tend to make little progress, which implies that MECs have emerged as a perennial problem for Nigeria's educational system. As documented in Agwu et al (2020Agwu et al ( , 2022, the West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO), the foremost organisers of SSCE in Nigeria, release a list of those who act contrary to examination guidelines annually. The numbers usually range from 50,000 to over 200,000 and many are connected to MECs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both schools also function as places where SSCEs are conducted, after being accredited and approved by examination bodies and MoE. However, private schools are said to be easily positioned as MECs because they are owned by individuals who are profit driven (Agwu et al , 2022). Thus, school owners may collude with internal and external rogue actors to compromise the standards of SSCEs in such a way that their clients can make favourable, but undeserved grades.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Drivers of poor performance in SSCEs in Nigeria include poor remuneration of teachers, weak regulation of schools, poverty, lack of funding for the education sector, and inconsistencies in educational policies (Agwu et al, 2022;Onyibe et al, 2015;Omemu, 2015). Also, the teachers in Nigerian schools are said to lack the proper motivation to deliver high-quality teaching due to bureaucracies and political constraints (Bold et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Stakeholders’ perspectives on “miracle examination centres” in Nigeria

Agwu

Odii

Orjiakor

et al. 2022

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Purpose The purpose of this study is to describe the nature and operations of schools commonly regarded as “Miracle Examination Centres (MECs)” in Nigeria, through the lens of stakeholders in education. This study also assessed stakeholders’ perspectives on the possible solutions to the problem of MECs. Design/methodology/approach The study design was a stakeholders’ approach involving 39 key actors within the examination system from northern and southern Nigeria. The stakeholders comprised people from the Ministries of Education (MoE), Examination Councils (EC), school owners and teachers, security agencies and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) who were invited to interact, interrogate and debate the subject of MECs in Nigeria. Using thematic analysis, recurrent themes were identified from the data and used for a narrative synthesis of the findings. Findings MECs may attempt to circumvent quality assurance and regulatory requirements and may find support from prominent leaders and members of the communities through a wider informal economy. Interventions against MECs might only yield incremental results and must involve various groups like CSOs, anti-corruption agencies, EC and faith- and community-based groups. These interventions will be even more effective if the MoE will strengthen its integrity and improve its monitoring and regulatory functions without political interference. Originality/value This paper revealed that improving examination integrity and building a solid and reliable secondary educational level in Nigeria will be achieved through the combination of horizontal and vertical approaches that involve local actors and those in authority.

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Section: Assembly Have Charged Ecs and Moe To Sanction Defaulters Of ...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Participants' Recruitmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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