AN APPRAISAL OF THE ROLE OF LAW IN COMBATING EXAMINATION MALPRACTICE

(A CASE STUDY OF AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY, ZARIA)

By

Author

Presented To

Department of Law

ABSTRACT
This dissertation entitled“An Appraisal of the Role of law in Combating Examination Malpractice: A case Study of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria”is aimed at examining the existing legal regime governing examination malpractice in Nigeria in particular relation to the study of the rules in operation in Ahmadu Bello University. The sources of information relied upon for this research are based on statutes, judicial authorities, articles in journal publications, conference papers, internet and relevant text material on the subject matter. However, the statement of problem justifying this research is that, most often students challenge the disciplinary powers of institutions of learning in examination malpractice cases on grounds of lackof fair hearing thereby creating doubts in the minds of the public as to the effective application of the existing law. In other words, to the public, it seems as if there is no specific law on the subject matter, hence the reason for the challenge posited by the students. Thus, the objective of this research is to examine the adequacy or otherwise of the existing laws on the subject matter in relation to the practical implementation by universities in Nigeria. Nevertheless, this research found (among others) that higher institutions do not report cases of examination malpractice to the Nigerian police force before taking actions (which sometimes include expulsion) against the wrong doer and thereby forgetting that it is a criminal matter which cannot be handled exclusively within the confinement of the higher institutions. Finally, this research was concluded by recommending (among others) that students who commit examination malpractice should be handed to the police before taking any action; and the institutions must ensure that fair hearing is strictly adhered to in the use of administrative panels.