The Student Is More Prepared For The Examination Than The Invigilator

The Student Is More Prepared For The Examination Than The Invigilator

When I make statements like these, I risk being misinterpreted, but I have lived long enough on this earth to stop worrying about being misinterpreted. The best I can do is to explain myself. That is the beauty of free speech.

There is no doubt that the invigilator is a teacher by profession, and by reason of that, has more knowledge and experience than the child who might be sitting for an external examination for the first time in his or her life.

However, my point is this: when it comes to the Paper that is being written that day, the candidate may usually be more prepared than the invigilator.

After over ten years of observing the trends of examination malpractice in Ghana, and sounding the alarm bells that things have to change, I have over and over again concluded that apart from the numerous stakeholders who are guilty in one way or the other by permission or omission, most of our invigilators who are also key players in the conduct of the examinations find themselves in the guilty soup too

The Student Is More Prepared For The Examination Than The Invigilator

I want to give you a few instances of happenings at some examination centers; invigilators who in some cases know the individual candidates or the schools sitting for the exams decide which school to ‘favor’. In some cases, they favor students by dictating objective answers to them.

There are also cases where the answer sheets of good students are given to some ‘favored’ students so they can quickly copy out answers. One shameful methodology employed also, is when ‘respectable’ teachers squat in bushes, waiting for their students to fake going to urinate so they could ‘help’ them.  I can go on and on with factual happenings at Exam centers.

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The fact remains nonetheless, that the child is usually prepared or ‘somehow prepared’, for lack of a better word, for the paper and so may know the answers better than the invigilator who in most cases is not a teacher of that subject. You may disagree, but I am just telling you real things I have seen and heard over the years.

There are occasions where students meet their subject teacher after the paper and say things like: “sir, I chose this, but that madam said I should choose this one rather.” If you are a child who is not sure of an answer to a question, won’t you rather choose, to go with what the invigilator whom you think is an adult so might know better says? This phenomenon accounts for some cases where with the invigilators’ ‘superior’ mentality and interference with the process, the students are left confused and therefore make costly mistakes which translates to bad grades.

ALSO READ : ANYTHING GOOD OR BAD HAS RESULTANT OUTCOMES…. THE EFFECTS OF EXAMINATION MALPRACTICE

These observations over the years make me conclude that, even though the invigilator might seem knowledgeable, some of the students are also usually more knowledgeable when it comes to the particular paper being written.

Let it be known to every invigilator that the gate keeper should not be part of the crime.

Let it be known to every invigilator that observing the examination rules to the latter is not a sign of wickedness on their part.

Let it be known to every invigilator that the examination is an academic destiny decider and so the right atmosphere should be created for students to flourish.

Congratulations to all invigilators who will lift the banner of righteousness in this year’s BECE. You are not wicked; you are only making things right and safeguarding the future of our children and our nation at large.

For the love of God, society and young people.

Blessings,

Rev Seth Kunkpe

Penfromafar…writing to make things right!            

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