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Lola and Emeka are class mates and have both worked particularly hard during their Senior Secondary one to three (SS1 – 3), because their parents have not minced words in letting them understand there are neither connections nor money to get them into any tertiary institution of learning in Nigeria. They must get in on merit.
Their parents, both graduates of first generation public universities in Nigeria made them see the need to work hard and excel at the West African Examination Council’s (WAEC) Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE).
Unfortunately, Lola and Emeka’s parents might be oblivious to the developing digital examination malpractice market across Nigeria and Ghana. Organisers of these rackets make use of Short Messaging System (SMS) and WhatsApp, a social media platform. They also make use of other online platforms.
Examination fraud sites have proliferated across Nigeria and Ghana, deploying the power of digital and mobile. For a little above one dollar, N400, the sites send answers to the ongoing West African Examination Council Senior Secondary School examination questions for Physics and N300 for Geography.
The implication of this is that there will be students obtaining as much as eight distinctions in either WAEC or the National Examination Council (NECO) SSCE and 300 in the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) through malpractice. These ones would likely gain admissions into universities, blocking the chances of better qualified students who legitimately obtained five credits and scored probably 220 in the UTME getting in. A significant percentage of good students fail to gain admissions as a result annually.
These exam malpractice sites have all examination papers, probably a day or two before the exams. They have the solutions too. There are several of them: Naijaclass.com, Examcrown.com, Exponet.com, Examsort.com and Gurus.com doing adverts, competing for patronage like legitimate businesses.
“It is really a sad development. Recently, while I was away on vacation, I got an email from my office that needed immediate attention. The email said my office had just received information about five websites where students can access the WAEC examination questions and answers, 24 hours before the time” Ronke Soyombo, Director General, Lagos State Office of Education Quality Assurance said during an education convention at the weekend in Lagos.
ExamPlaza.com, one of the most brazen sites, advertised its MTN line as 08167593558 for both Physics and Geography, papers scheduled for the week beginning April 23. It runs a bank account with Zenith Bank. Patrons call for the account number.
ExamPlaza declares boldly: WAEC 2018 RUNS, Bank Payment option (preferred). To subscribe kindly follow these steps: 1. Pay to Account Name: xxxxxxxx, Account Number: 217xxxxxxxx
Bank: Zenith Bank, (contact us for full bank details). 2. After payment send your details to 08138274394 as text message. Here are the details we need from you: Phone number, subjects and name of depositor.
Note: we Accept MTN Recharge card payment also. This is for those who cannot use bank option for some reasons. To subcribe with MTN Recharge card, send the card pins together with your subjects and phone number to 08138274394 as text message. 4. Once you have completed the above process. You will receive a confirmation message from us in few minutes
The cheat sites operate with bravado flaunting anti-examination malpractice policies laid down by WAEC. They offer packages to schools. An Information Technology (IT) expert who has been involved in education reform projects across the country was shocked at the discovery. He said of ExamPlaza, “This site offers a fully-integrated customer-oriented service for leaked examinations that is as sophisticated as an airline booking platform. Complete with Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and security provisions.”
BusinessDay’s interactions with school owners show that some WAEC invigilators approach schools volunteering to assist them carry out examination malpractices.
“I was shocked when WAEC invigilators approached me, because I was the head of the school and asked if we were ready, so that they could help our school cheat its way to success. I turned the offer down” a school head in Lagos said, on condition that she would not be identified.
Advertorials such as the ones below show how bold these online examination malpractice practitioners have become.
The 2018 WAEC subscritpion prices: Direct mobile/SMS package: Here you will receive all answers as text message direct to your phone; N10, 000 for seven and nine subjects with or without practicals, N800 per subject, N1000 for English and mathematics and N600.
Whatsapp package: Here you will receive all answers right on Whatsapp. You will need to provide us with your Whatsapp number
N4000 for seven to nine subjects with or without practicals, N800 Per subject per subject and N600 for practical.
School package:
With N20,000 we take charge of your school by making sure that we supply your school answers from 10 different trusted and verified sources. All our answers come at least three hours to the exam. Note: any person telling you that he will give you WAEC answer a day before or midnight before is trying to scam you or deceive you. Try to be wise!”
STEPHEN ONYEKWELU
