CHAPTER ONE

GENERAL INTRODUCTION

Introduction

Educational malpractice is a concept that pertains to the alleged failure of educational institutions, educators, or educational professionals to meet acceptable standards of care or professional conduct, resulting in harm or inadequate educational outcomes for students. This notion suggests that educators and educational institutions have a duty to provide a certain standard of education, and failure to meet this standard may lead to liability. However, it’s important to note that the concept of educational malpractice remains highly debated and, in many jurisdictions, has not been clearly defined or widely recognized in legal proceedings.

 Background of the study

Through education, learners are not only taught, trained and adequately guided to acquire relevant skills and knowledge but also taught how to adapt to acceptable societal life. To some people, education is seen as a means of overcoming handicaps, achieving greater equality and acquiring wealth and status for all. (Udim, Abutakar and Essien, 2015). Examinational malpractice in the field of education is a cankerworm that is fast draining the entire world and making education to lost its value, as well as certificates. (Baku 2001) The strongest form of educational malpractice is manifested in examinations. Educational malpractice is very evident in most educational systems ranging from primary, secondary and to university education in the Buea Municipality.

Historically educational malpractice dates as far back as the early 1970. At that time, it was staged expo “70”. When a full blowing examination leakage was noticed in the conduct of the West African examination council (WAEC) exams of the year (Ibezimakro 2009). These obnoxious issues gradually became so monumental and continued to establish in subsequent decades this at a point in time became so worrisome to state authorities. Narrowing down to Cameroon and Buea in particular, educational systems is on which has been characterized by a swelling pronunciation of educational malpractices have either instigated by the students, teachers, or promoted by parents at home.  Educational malpractices have been witness down from mere classroom test in secondary schools in Buea, end of semesters’ exams in the university to the General Certificate of Education (GCE) y for grammar students and the BACC and AAP for technical educate and even to competitive entrance examinations like the entrance examination into ENSET and other schools.

Nnam and Inah (2015) notes that examination is a yard stick against which students or candidates competence and progress are formerly measured and appraised in the education sector. According to Umaiku (2012), examination as part of evaluation in education is aimed at determining a learner’s level of skill acquisition or intellectual competence and understanding after a given training. Educational malpractice in Cameroon is a sold as the country itself and the Buea Municipality in particular. The educational malpractice practice Art (1999) explains educational malpractices as any act of omission or commission by a person who in anticipation of, before, during or after any examination fraudulently secures any unfair advantage for himself.

Generally, in Cameroon and Buea Municipality; a phenomenon harnessed by most secondary schools students in the Municipality through their educational examinations has become alarming over the last 5 decades. For some students cheating during exams is normal, while for others, they cheat because is it a solution to their success.

 Conceptually, the researcher seeks to establish two variables which intend to better explain the research phenomenon which includes the dependent and independent variable. This covers educational malpractice and academic performance of students in the Buea Municipality.

 Theoretically, many theories can be used to describe the relationship between educational examination malpractice and students academic performance in the Buea Municipality. Three classical major sociological perspectives can be used in providing theoretical backing which are the structural functional theory; which points out the contribution of educational malpractice in maintaining a stable social system aid its negative consequences for the social system. The second is the conflict theory which reveals how educational malpractice generates various types of conflict in the social system and its role in preparing inequality, while the theory of symbolic interaction points out how educational malpractice takes place through interaction. But for this study the social learning theory of Albert Banura and Behavioral theory of Operant conditioning by B.F Skinner will be used to provide an in-depth understanding to this research.

In the contextual approach of this research,  the cultural aspect of educational malpractice is seen in the faces of some students as they will run late into the examination hall late and when been searched there is the presence of pre-prepared material attached on them, some students tend to hide these materials inside their clothing . The researcher taught alot about rules and consequences students will face if caught in the act. Though the researcher found ways to reduce educational malpractice in the municipality, educational malpractice is still alarming.  Making a lot of students suspended from school, missing a lot of achievements as they stay at home doing nothing.  Though to their stay at home, many indulge in juvenile delinquent activities such as smoking, stealing just to name a few. Due to these activities students gets into, the researcher will develop plans and norms to reduce the acts of educational malpractice in secondary school in the world, Cameroon and in the Buea Municipality.

Statement of the Problem

Education is the most common tool used in the educational sector to decide who is qualify to go to the next class or next level, as well as what is used to decide who should be in a particular tasks in an organization, but a lot of malpractice have crippled into it.

During the final examination of the researchers, they realized that the examination was characterized with many mishaps. This could be visible as many of the students were seating close to each other some were often seen moving up down in the examination hall and when invigilators asked them, they gave silly complains like they want to plead calculators. Furthermore, in the examination hall it is viewed  that, there is a close to 450 candidates in the examination hall with 5 invigilators, giving a ratio of about 1:90 that is one invigilator taking care of about 90  students and sometimes, the students answering multiple choice questions. Worse of all was not that the students identification papers were not checked upon entering the examination halls, nor during the GCE exams when he was invigilating with a bundle of prey, prepared materials inside the hall. This type of students moves along the streets certificates they cannot defend. It is therefore with this fact in mind that the researcher set out to find out how educational malpractice like cheating during examination, interpersonal relationship between the secondary school students and invigilators in the Buea Municipality.

Objective of Study

General Objective

The main objective of the study is to examine the effect of educational malpractice on student’s academic performance.

Specific Objectives

Specifically, this research seeks to;

1. Examine the relationship between Impersonation and students academic performance.
2. Find out the effects prepared materials.
3. Evaluation of the effects of collusion, and plagiarism during exams on secondary schools student’s academic performance.
4. Proposed possible solution in curbing educational malpractice.

Research Hypotheses

Benjamin (1996) defines hypothesis as a proposed explanations made on the basis of limited evidence as a starting point for further investigation. They are reasonable guesses about possible and tentative solutions to the problem.

The following hypotheses will guide this study.

General Hypothesis

Ho: There is no significant relationship between educational malpractice and student’s academic performance.

Ha: There is a significant relationship between educational malpractice and student’s academic performance.

Specific Hypotheses

Ha1: There is a significant relationship between Impersonation and students academic performance.

Ho1: There is no significant relationship between Impersonation and students academic performance

Ha2: There is a significant relationship between prepared materials and students academic performance.

Ho2: There is no significant relationship between prepared materials and students academic performance.

Ha3: There is a significant relationship between plagiarism and collation.

Ho3: There is no significant relationship between plagiarism and collation.

Research Questions

General Research Questions

What are the effects of educational malpractice on student’s academic performance in the Buea Municipality?

Specific Research Questions

1: To what extent can impersonation affects students academic performance in the Buea municipality?

2: To what extent can prepared materials affects students academic Performance in the Buea Municipality?

3: What are the effects of plagiarism and collation of student’s academic performance?