Increasing rate of examinations fraud worrisome – ICPC
The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission on Wednesday expressed concern over the increasing acts of corruption associated with the conduct of public examinations.
The Chairman of ICPC, Mr. Ekpo Nta, disclosed this in Abuja at the opening ceremony of a sensitization programme organised for officials of examination bodies and other stakeholders.
Nta, represented by Dr Elvis Oglafa, the Secretary to the commission, said ICPC had received a lot of petitions associated with public examinations from both foreign and local persons and institutions.
He said, “As an anti-corruption agency, we are concerned about the various acts of corruption associated with the conduct of public examinations.
“The petitions we have received centered round individual or group-organised corrupt practices like impersonation, forgery and alteration of certificates as well as issuance of fake transcripts and certificates.
“It involves virtually all levels of participants in the examination chain: invigilators, computer centers, teachers, parents, law enforcement officers and the candidates.”
He said the sensitization programme was not to impose sanctions, but to identify and eradicate the root causes of corruption associated with the conduct of public examinations.
He said, “We are all here to design a holistic anti-corruption strategy that will involve sharing best practices that have worked for our peculiar environment.
“We are not here to apportion blames or run anybody down because the success of each body is the success for all and the integrity of the Nigerian public examination system.”
The Head of Education Department of the commission, Mr. Geoffrey Anumve, said the programme would help to educate and foster public support in the fight against corruption.
Anumve said that the education sector was important to the commission in view of the position of children and youths in the society.
The head of department said the ICPC had developed several programmes to re-orientate and instill sound moral values and facilitate the raising of a generation of morally upright Nigerians.
He identified anti-corruption clubs in schools, Integrity Lecture Series, National Value Curriculum Project, National Anti-corruption Vanguard, University System Study and Review as youth education and mobilization programmes of the commission.
(NAN)
