Prevalence of Examination Malpractice and Its Influence on Academic Integrity Outcomes in Public Secondary Schools in Kaduna Metropolis, Nigeria

This study investigated the prevalence of examination malpractice and its influence on academic integrity outcomes in public secondary schools in Kaduna Metropolis, Nigeria. The study adopted a descriptive survey research design. The population for this study comprised all principals, teachers, and students in public senior secondary schools in Kaduna Metropolis. The student population were 48,698, while the teaching staff population were 3,276, and the number of serving school principals is 87. Multi-stage sampling technique was adopted for this study. The sample size of the study was 473 respondents. A structured questionnaire developed by the researcher and titled the Examination Malpractice and Academic Integrity was used for data collection. Mean and standard deviation were used to answer the research questions. The study revealed that examination malpractice was prevalent across public secondary schools in Kaduna Metropolis. Also, inadequate preparation and poor academic foundation of students, desire to gain admission into higher institutions, weak or inadequate examination supervision, fear of failure and its social consequences among others are the facilitating factors of examination malpractice in Kaduna Metropolis. The study further revealed that examination malpractice has a negative influence on academic integrity outcomes in Kaduna Metropolis. The study recommended among others that Kaduna State Ministry of Education and the Kaduna State Schools Management Board should develop and implement a comprehensive examination integrity policy framework which should clearly define all forms of examination malpractice, establish standardised, transparent, and consistently enforced sanctions for detected malpractice at every level.