15,000 out of 52,000 pupils who wrote Bauchi BECE were involved in Exam Malpractice — Commissioner

The Education Commissioner of Bauchi State, Aliyu Tilde, stated that the state recorded 15,000 cases of exam malpractice during the Basic Education Certification Exam (BECE) conducted in August.

Tilder disclosed this at a press conference in Bauchi on Wednesday.

He said that the preliminary examination was conducted when Governor Barra Mohammed dismissed the cabinet, so he did not supervise the examination in his office.

He said that out of the 52,000 students who took the exam, 15,000 participated caught cheating during the exam.

“We are admitting virtually every child into SS1 because the total number that sat for the exam was just about 52,000 and 45,000 are from government-owned schools.

“The admission is based largely on the essay paper because it is the only true and most genuine paper.

“The exam took place when the cabinet was dissolved and there were a lot of malpractices. I have videos to that effect. We rely on the essay because it comes out of the brain of the child.

“However in the essay, out of the 52,000 students that participated in the examination, 15,000 students engaged in malpractices.

“You pick a whole school and found out that they are all wrote the same thing. It was either someone was dictating to them or wrote it for them,” he said.

Tilder, who was re-appointed to the office, said that he will not take a new BECE exam, but will hold officials responsible for violations.

He said that every child who takes the test, no matter how good his grades are, will be admitted to the nearest day middle school, and those who are admitted to the national excellent boarding school will take the placement test.