The Death of Hard Work: How Examination Malpractice Kills Students' Motivation

Nothing can be substituted for hard work, particularly in students' academic journey. There is a time to read, a time to play and a time to rest.

It is needful to state that when you don't know how each of these periods is to be put into action, failure is always the outcome of such a student's life. Reading isn't something that is easy to do, hence many students find it hard to discipline themselves when it comes to sitting in a spot with their books to read.

This is the problem, because many educationists now tend to use education as a tool to amass wealth at the detriment of the students.

This article will delve into how hard work is becoming a missing tool in students' academic life, the consequences of examination malpractice - and a way forward.

It is worthy to mention that most people in our modern day society - at least 90% - pass through some form of education or the other, and have contact with teachers and other educationists at some point in their lives.

It is, therefore, a matter of seriousness for educationists to know that we are game changers. Through our attitude towards the academic and moral growth of our students, we are influencers of how the leaders of tomorrow we are nurturing turn out in the future.

As teachers and educationists, our way of life and morals will surely tell on our students. It isn't therefore news that we are either making or marring the lives we are nurturing.

We complain about bad leadership, forgetting that it didn't just start today. It could start at an early stage. Take for instance, a child being aided in carrying out examination malpractices. When the child grows up, he would also not have second thoughts of doing something illegal or immoral, because the foundation had been laid already.

We see many teachers and other educationists engaging in providing answers for students in examination halls, just because they don't want such students to fail. It is shameful that after spending more than six years in secondary school, such students end up relying on teachers to provide answers for them in their examinations. What an utter shame!

This act only brings such students the wrong belief of living an immoral life as if it was a normal one. They would believe

that black is white and white is black, because of the wrong moral values they have received.

Asides creating a false sense of doing wrong while thinking it is right, it makes such students lazy. Laziness takes away one's sense of responsibility.

Every student knows that the right thing to do is to study - that's the only task! But, like I said, some teachers end up creating the awareness either directly or indirectly that the students would be assisted during the examinations. This goes a long way in making the students feel relaxed and dependent on exam malpractices to pass their exams.

Every functioning and great individual in the society is a student in the school of responsibility and discipline. You can't

be unserious with your life as a student and expect something tangible to be the outcome of your years as a student. It all boils down to responsibility.

If some students won't take responsibility for their lives at this early stage in secondary schools, it would be difficult for

them to achieve something great in life. This explains why we are still far behind in this part of the world. The issue of responsibility has been left undiscussed and replaced with demoralizing shortcuts.

Parents aren't also left out. Many Parents are also in support of this disaster. Haven't you thought of it? You will send a child to school, and feel unconcerned about the academics. There's no time you told the child to bring the books while you threw some questions for answers.

No, most parents leave the whole job to the teachers, which isn't supposed to be so. It is your personal duty to evaluate what the school is doing on your child's intellectual and moral growth and if it isn't pleasing, you are free to go down to the school and make complaints. But the majority of the parents do not do this. This is why when the child is about to write an external exam like WASSCE, GCE or NECO, the parents support the malpractices.

You end up making payments from JSS 1 or SSS 1, depending on when the child resumed the school, only for you to also help the uncultured teacher in carrying out exam malpractices which you would have to

> pay for again. Isn't this disturbing?
This simply means the money you paid all through is a waste and the teachers didn't do their jobs, because if they did, they would have not thought of engaging the students in examination malpractices.

This is a terrible state which many teachers and parents have made a reality. Until we take our stand against this cankerworm called examination malpractices in Nigeria, we won't be able to meet up

with the booming and growing standards of the 21st century.

We need to eradicate this disease in our educational system so as to create a sense of moral living where students take total responsibilities of their lives and not depend on shortcuts to success, because shortcuts can cut short one's life.

Asides this, shortcuts also make one skip the process. Processes are meant to help us learn one thing or the other towards the path of greatness. We can do better as teachers and educationists, parents and students. There is no shame in failing; with every failure comes a lesson if properly utilized.