The Imo State Government has set up a monitoring committee to checkmate malpractices, as the 2023 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) begins.
The state Commissioner for Education, Prof. Johncliffe Nwadike told newsmen in Owerri, the state capital, on Monday that all possible loopholes for examination malpractices had been blocked.
Nwadike, a former Head of the Department of History and International Studies at the Imo State University, Owerri, said that the committee would rove from one part of the state to another to ensure strict compliance with set standards for the examination.
According to him, a special team had also been set up to monitor members of the committee and make it difficult for them to compromise standards.
“The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry and I set up a special squad to monitor the committee and supervise the supervisors to ensure strict compliance with set standards.
“We interacted with the West African Examinations Council’s Coordinator in Imo, and carried out sensitisation in schools, on the need for principals to nominate as supervisors those who can protect their integrity.
“We also organised a workshop for supervisors, where we told them that violations of guidelines for the exams would attract sanctions such as suspension, demotion, or outright dismissa”, he said.
He also said that reagents and chemicals required for laboratory tests were ready, adding that candidates in the state would not lack any necessary items needed.
He, however, assured the people of the state that the ministry was working in close cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Education to ensure the release of all outstanding results for the 2022 WASSCE.
He urged candidates, schools, and supervisors in the state, to fully cooperate with the arrangements to ensure a smooth conduct of the examinations.
He expressed confidence that students in the state would excel in the examinations.
