Rev. Fr. Anthony Okereke, the Priest in charge of the Holy Spirit Catholic Church, Onireke, Ojo Lagos, has advised students to desist from examination malpractice.
Okereke gave the advice at a 2023 second quarter retreat tagged “Youths for Improved Education” organized by the Catholic Youth Organization (CYON) on Sunday in Lagos.
Okereke also admonished parents to stop encouraging their children to cheat during examination
He maintained that such act kills the zeal among youths to study hard.
The cleric said that cheating during exams does not only kill innovation and the drive for a better society, but remains a major cause of underdevelopment in the society.
”Young people must refrain from indulging in short cut to success, it does more harm than good to the individual and the society at large.
”Young boys and girls must study hard and deploy their knowledge to leapfrog the nation’s economy, especially in the area of value-addition and manufacturing, ”he said
He decried the rise in miracle examination centers across the country, adding that it had become a tradition in the society that parents pay higher than normal to enroll their children in such centers.
“What makes it special from others is the belief that through an established examination unethical practice candidates in such centers will pass with good grades.
“That is the undoing of our society that discourages reward for excellence and enthrones mediocrity in every facet of the society,” he said.
He maintained that the church had a peerless education system that every youth should embrace to advance.
The National Examination Council (NECO) decried the incidence of malpractice were recorded during its just concluded entrance examination into Federal Unity Schools.
Examination malpractice has been a public concern for years, with examination bodies such as the West African Examination Council (WAEC) and the Joint Administration Matriculation Board (JAMB) withholding results of centers allegedly involved in it.
