Electronic Invigilation Inclusion in Curbing Examination Malpractices Among Postgraduate Students in Selected Public Tertiary Institutions In Rivers State

Abstract:

The study investigated electronic invigilation inclusion in curbing examination malpractices among postgraduate students in selected public tertiary institutions in Rivers State. The study adopted the descriptive survey research design. Three research questions and three hypotheses guided the study. The population of the study consisted of all 9,510 postgraduate students of three academic sessions of three tertiary institutions. Taro Yamane Formula was used for the sample size. The multi-stage sampling techniques were adopted in selecting the sample size of 400. A structured questionnaire titled electronic invigilation inclusion in curbing examination malpractice questionnaire (EIICEMQ) was used as an instrument for data collection. Three experts validated the instrument and Cronbach Alpha Method was used to obtain an average reliability coefficient of 0.83. 400 copies of the questionnaire were administered to the respondents but only 365 were retrieved and used for the study. The items were rated on a four (4) point rating scale; mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions while z-test was used in testing the formulated hypotheses. The findings reviewed that there is a high extent of close-circuit television (CCTV) camera, biometric system and signal jamming devices inclusion in curbing examination malpractices among postgraduate students in selected public tertiary institutions in Rivers State. The researcher recommended that tertiary institutions should adopt the use of CCTV camera for surveillance and the recording of examination offenses because the mere presence of CCTV cameras alone is capable of scaring potential malpractice candidates, since they are well aware of being watched, with the possibilities of recorded clips being filed as evidence of malpractice endeavors, tertiary institutions should adopt the use of biometric system in registering admitted students and use same process in identifying the registered students during examinations and tertiary institutions should also deploy signal jamming devices in order to temporarily stop the functionality of cell phones and its usage for unnecessary communications during examinations.