CURBING THE MENACE OF EXAMINATION MALPRACTICE AMONG STUDENTS IN COLLEGES OF EDUCATION USING THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOUR

Abstract

Examination malpractices have increasingly become a prevalent means for students to achieve academic success, raising significant concerns about the validity and reliability of their results. This pervasive issue undermines the credibility of educational assessments and poses a substantial challenge for institutions striving to maintain academic integrity. In response, colleges of education are implementing various measures to address this menace. Guided by the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB), which posits that intentions significantly influence planned behaviours, this study aims to explore strategies for curbing examination malpractices through the assessment of students' intentions. It is in the light of the above, that this study is carried out to curtail the menace of examination malpractices using the theory of planned behaviour through the use of student intension assessment. The study adopted a descriptive survey design using questionnaires to elicit information from one hundred and fifty (150) students of Federal College of Education (Special) Oyo, randomly selected from 100 level to 300 level. The finding of the study revealed that respondents sampled who had been involved in the examination
malpractices did so because they don’t want to fail and they were initiated in to the act by their friends. And their actions were backed up with necessary sanctions that led to a change in behaviour.The study also recommends that The Examination Malpractice Act 33 of 1999 be changed to reinstate the provisions of Decree 20 of 1984, which called for twenty-one (21) years imprisonment without the possibility of pardon for those found guilty of conducting examination malpractice. This will serve as a disincentive to students, teachers, security personnel, and other complicit partners in the malpractice industry if it is completely implemented.