Students of Federal Polytechnic, Oko (OKOPOLY), Anambra State, are now living in fear, following the recent expulsion of over 50 students caught in examination malpractice and other sundry activities.
SchoolGist.com.ng gathered that the last semester examination brought fever on students because those caught in examination malpractice were expelled, while those who did not meet the minimum academic benchmark required in the various departments were told to withdraw and enter another department.
More than 40 students were told to quit or repeat in the Mass Communication Department after the last result was released, causing panic among the students.
The Rector, Prof. Godwin Onu, had earlier warned students to desist from exam malpractice or face outright explusion. The Public Relations Officer, Obini Onuchukwu, said no fewer than 50 students have lost their admission in the institution due to their involvement in examination malpractice and other nefarious activities. He said the institution took academic honesty seriously in order to restore sanity and discipline in the institution.
Onuchukwu said the institution also introduced computer based examination system, starting with the Department of Public Administration to reduce examination malpractice to zero level.
“The nature of the exam is that the student will work with the computer, which sets the time of the exam. On the expiration of the allotted time, the computer goes off. The result will be electronically processed and sent to the students’ phone and those of their parents or guardians within one hour. Once the result uploads, it goes into the students file and gives a cumulative of the students score. By this, we have reduced contact between the students and the lecturers,” he said.
Aside the high security of examination materials, Onuchukwu said the procedure also saves money that could have been used in printing answer scripts and question papers. “It also makes our students to become computer literate. The future plan is that results and certificates of students would be posted online after graduation. Nigerian Security Printing and Minting now handles the printing of our certificates, with security codes, thereby reducing forgery”. he said
Speaking on the incident, the Head of Department (H.O.D) Mass Communication, Mr. G.O Ibe, advised students to remain focused on their studies. He noted that students don’t devote much time to their studies but engage in social networking on Facebook, 2go and Whatsapp.
Reacting to the development, an HND 1 Mass Communication student, Nelson Nwamara, said final year students also risked expulsion or even withdrawal.
Hear him, “The school should have given them chance or even hear from them. Some of them may have a good version why they couldn’t meet up with the minimum result required. Some may have financial problems or even fall sick. For me, it does not go down well with me. I will prefer that the school should give the person suspension for one to two years or repeating the class than expelling that person completely because some of the students may not get the necessary teaching.”
