Principal’s management strategies for effective control of examination malpractices in Public Secondary Schools in Anambra State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study examined the management strategies adopted by principals for effective control of examination malpractice  in Anambra State Secondary Schools. It adopted a descriptive survey design. Three research questions guided the study.  The population of the study was 58 principals and 1772 teachers in 58 public secondary schools in Onitsha and  Otuocha education zones of Anambra state. All the principals were sampled because of their size while 144 teachers  were selected using multi stage sampling technique totaling 202 respondents. An instrument constructed by researcher  titled, “Management Strategies for Effective Control of Examination Malpractice by Principals Questionnaires”  (MSECEPQ) was used for data collection. The instrument was validated by three experts, two expects from educational management and one expert from measurement and Evaluation, all from Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu  University, Igbariam Campus, Anambra State, Nigeria. The reliability was established using Cronbach Alpha to determine  the internal consistency and it yielded a reliability co efficient of .82. Data collected were analyzed using  mean and standard deviation. The result of data analysis revealed that there are different forms of examination malpractices which include – impersonation, coming into examination hall with electronic devices and receiving help  from unscrupulous invigilators. Based on the findings, it was recommended among others that government should  provide CCTV cameras in examination halls and also provide adequate thumb printing machines during examination.