By EMMANUEL UZOR, Onitsha on July 22, 2014 · National
No fewer than 486 magic examination centres identified in Anambra State are to be shutdown by the state government as part of official measures to curb examination malpractices in the education sector.
The state Commissioner for Education, Prof Kate Omenugha, who gave the hint during the 10th anniversary of St. Joseph Academic Award for 2014, said these examination miracle centres had been aiding and abetting examination malpractices especially during West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and National Examination Council (NECO) examinations.
Prof Omenugha, while commending the founder of St. Joseph Academic Award, Mr. Bath Nwibe said the decision to shutdown the magic centres was induced by the way their operators fashioned them to swindle unsuspecting but desperate candidates.
His words: “We have government schools and approved private schools that are saddled with the responsibility of training our children to become functional members of our society. But with the emergence of these miracle centres, our children no longer study to pass examinations; rather they go to those places where they will be helped to pass examinations. We have set plans in motion to ensure that those examination miracle centres are closed down so that our children would imbibe the spirit and culture of success through hard-work.”
Mr. Nwibe, an engineer, noted that the award was instated to ensure that the human resources given to the youths were guided to become real assets to the society.
“This is by guiding them to develop the habit of hard-work early in life and thus, get good education that will form the launch pad for their growth and development in other areas,”
He pledged willingness to partner with the state government in the area of enlarging the foundation to the state level, “while we continue in extending succour to the beneficiaries.”
