By Olasunkanmi Akoni 

LAGOS—Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, has faulted Lagos State Deputy Governor, Mrs Sarah Sosan’s stance on its involvement in the monitoring of public examinations, saying the NSCDC had restored sanity to the conduct of examinations across the federation, especially in Lagos State.

Sosan had in a recent publication expressed misgivings over the presence of para-military personnel like NSCDC at public examinations as monitors because their presence could cause fear in the minds of candidates and affect their performances negatively.

NSCDC, however, maintained that since its involvement in monitoring examinations there had been tremendous progress in the reduction of examination malpractices in the conduct of public/tertiary examinations, like National Examination Council, NECO and Joint Admission Matriculation Board, JAMB, in Nigeria.

Zonal Commander Zone A, Assistant Commandant-General, ACG, Mr. Sam Onyeemachi, recalled that before the emergence of NSCDC, examination malpractices had eaten deep and devastated the educational system.

He said: “Making the situation worse, some parents will neither train their wards at home nor allow the teachers to perform their duty of inculcating discipline. This unnecessary interference from parents has also contributed to moral laxity in the schools and society.

“Issues like these gave rise to the use of NSCDC to carry out security functions during such examination.
“Sosan, may wish to realise the facts that NECO, JAMB and SSCE have commended NSCDC for discharging their duties meritoriously.”

They insisted that NSCDC would continue to conduct such examinations.

According to him, “NSCDC as a worldwide paramilitary outfit is neither defined nor associated with corruption. Its functions are formulated to be suitable for all forms of government.

“Her idea that the use of paramilitary organisation to monitor public examination could instil some unnecessary fear in the candidates and defeat its objective of ensuring peaceful conduct of such examination is non sequitur.”

He noted that since NSCDC took off with the assignment, serious students who prepared for the examination performed well with good results that were not seized, while those that hoped on examination malpractices failed.”

He advised such students to turn a new leaf and take their studies serious, adding “this will enable them to be successful in their examinations. The answer is effective machinery of discipline and control by NSCD.

“We must restore dignity to education and examination orderliness. I enjoin the government, parents, religious leaders, teachers and members of the society, etc, to stop blaming one another but embrace positive change and face their expected duties in other to raise human beings that we can be proud of in our society.”