…as stakeholders blame moral decadence, and social injustice for academic bribery
Not less than 40 percent of respondents affirmed that Nigerian parents pay bribes for their children’s pass marks in schools across the country.
According to the Chatham House Africa Programme’s Social Norms and Accountable Governance (SNAG) report, “Corruption in Nigeria’s education sector plays a role in the steady decline in quality, learning and assessment outcomes as well as the increase in poverty, inequality, and underdevelopment.”
The survey further revealed that respondents believed that a significant number of parents pay bribes for their children to be passed.
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“In Adamawa, Enugu, and Lagos States, respondents thought 40 percent of parents paid bribes, despite less than 11 percent feeling that this was acceptable.
Parents are likely to pay bribes because they believe this guarantees a pass mark for their children in an examination. However, many disapprove of this form of bribe-giving,” the report reveals.
Stakeholders blame moral decadence, and social injustice, among others as fuelling corruption in the learning ecosystem of the country.
In societies where corruption is widespread, and where children witness authority figures such as parents and educators engaging in corrupt practices, the value of integrity is eroded.
Experts see corruption in primary and secondary education as particularly corrosive to social trust and limit the development of educated, competent, and public-spirited individuals with ethical standards and a sense of common citizenship, while normalising the acceptability of corruption among future adults.
Boye Ogundele, an educationist said the malady of pass-mark-bribery coupled with a lack of conscience and moral laxity in the society is eroding the education system.
“Everybody wants to be rich at all costs. People are ready to do anything to achieve their demonic aims not minding the repercussions,” he said.
Temitope Obisesan, a teacher said bribery for pass-marks and other corruptive tendencies are surging in the private and public schools but that it is more pronounced in the public sector.
“In public schools, there are standards for promotion to the next class and where a student does not measure up, it becomes an issue of concern to their parents, therefore they look for every means to buy promotion.
“They tend to start offering gifts to the teacher, having their children take extra lessons with a particular subject teacher or even negotiate directly with the teacher for their children’s promotion,” she said.
Stakeholders complained that the government is not helping matters by underfunding the public schools, because most of them do not have their children in those schools; unlike what was obtainable in the early post-Nigerian independence where the children of the rich and the poor were made to study in the same public schools.
Oyebola Ajiteru, an education consultant said many private schools, capitalise on the learning-gulf landscape to indulge in pass-marks bribery to boost student enrolment.
“I have seen parents go the extra mile to make inquiries for examination centres where their children will have free academic runs without hard work.
“They decide on paying for schools where their children can either go with ready-made answers to leaked questions or where the teachers come in to give the students answers on a platter of gold,” she said.
“Also schools go into such an act to sell their institutions as the best in academics or having a landmark with the best results from their students during external examinations,” she adds.
Ogunode Jacob and Shofoyeke Stephen in their journal stressed that according to international standards, children who have completed grade three are expected to be fully literate.
However, they said, in Nigeria, only 66 percent of public school students can read at least one of three words and 78 percent can add single digits after completing grade four.
This they highlighted to buttress the fact that the quality of education in Nigeria is poor, especially in the public schools.
Gloria Akinsola, a teacher said that paying teachers for unmerited grades undermines the integrity of the educational system and does have negative consequences for students, teachers, and society as a whole.
“Paying for grades gives some students an unfair advantage over their peers, which can lead to resentment and decreased motivation among those who earn their grades honestly.
“When grades are bought, students may not take responsibility for their learning, leading to a lack of understanding and retention of material,” she said.
Similarly, Friday Erhabor, the director of media and strategies at Marklenez Limited said parents who pay teachers to pass their children or aid any form of examination malpractice in favour of their children are destroying the future of such children.
“Even if you carry a first-class certificate, if you don’t know, you don’t have it and at the appropriate time, it will show,” he noted.
Experts mull that corruption in the education system is particularly corrosive to social trust and limits the development of educated, competent, and public-spirited individuals with ethical standards and a sense of common citizenship while normalising the acceptability of exploitation among future adults.
“Corruption also impedes the role of the education sector in supporting personal development, building a skilled workforce, and contributing to the enhancement of societal well-being,” they say.
