The Dean of the School of Environmental Studies at Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Desina Aladeloba, has introduced a ₦1 million award initiative aimed at encouraging students to reject examination malpractice and uphold academic integrity.

Aladeloba announced the initiative, known as the ‘War Against Examination Crime’ (WAEC) Award, on Monday in Lagos. He explained that the programme rewards departments whose students complete an academic session without recording any examination malpractice cases.

He clarified that the ‘WAEC’ initiative created for YABATECH is unrelated to the West African Senior School Certificate Examination conducted by the West African Examinations Council.

According to the dean, the maiden edition of the award took place on June 24 following an assessment of students’ conduct across two academic semesters.

He explained that departments automatically qualify for the award if none of their students is reported to the School Examination Malpractice Investigation Committee during the academic session.

“The idea is to prevent examination malpractice rather than focus only on punishment. If there are no cases, the committee will have little or no work to do,” he said.

Aladeloba disclosed that two of the institution’s seven departments emerged as winners in the inaugural edition of the initiative.

The Departments of Architecture and Transport Planning and Management shared the ₦1 million prize, with the funds presented directly to their respective students’ associations instead of their heads of department.

“The award belongs to the students because they are the ones we want to encourage to maintain integrity during examinations,” he said.

The dean described examination malpractice as a serious crime with far-reaching consequences for society.

He warned that professionals who obtain qualifications through fraudulent means could put lives at risk because of incompetence in critical sectors, including medicine, engineering and construction.

Aladeloba maintained that although offenders should be sanctioned, educational institutions should prioritise preventive strategies over punitive measures in addressing examination malpractice.

He also expressed concern over what he described as the growing desperation for paper qualifications in Nigeria, saying the trend has fuelled examination malpractice and the proliferation of so-called “miracle centres.”

The dean urged relevant government agencies to crack down on operators of miracle centres and prosecute offenders. He added that tackling examination malpractice effectively requires greater emphasis on competence, practical skills and value creation rather than paper qualifications alone.

Aladeloba also commended the Federal Government’s increasing focus on skills acquisition and vocational education, describing the approach as a positive step.

He noted that the initiative has already encouraged healthy competition among students, with departments actively urging their members to avoid examination misconduct in pursuit of the annual award.

The dean expressed optimism that the programme could be replicated by other tertiary institutions as part of broader efforts to strengthen academic integrity and reduce examination malpractice across Nigeria.

Source: Peoples Gazette