Causes and Consequences of Examination Malpractice on the Academic Achievement of Office Technology and Management Students in Polytechnics in South-Western Zone of Nigeria

This paper examined causes and consequences of examination malpractice on the academic achievement of Office Technology and Management (OTM) students in Polytechnics in South-Western zone of Nigeria. The population of the study comprised all HND I and HND II in the five States and four Federal Polytechnics offering OTM in South-Western zone of Nigeria. Through random sampling method, three States and two Federal Polytechnics were selected as sample for the study. A total of 512 HND I and HND II students were eventually selected out of 682 students through stratified sampling method. Questionnaire was the major instrument used to gather data for the study; while, mean and standard deviation were used to analyse the data gathered. It was found that government non-implementation of examination malpractice decree and inadequate preparation for examinations were some of the causes of examination malpractices; also, the study confirmed that irreversible loss of credibility and dismissal from school were the consequences of examination malpractice on OTM students and that implementation of examination malpractice decree and adequate preparation for examinations among others were the ways of minimizing or eliminating examination malpractices among OTM students. It was recommended that government should endeavour to implement examination malpractice Act No 33 of 1999 which stipulated a minimum punishment of N50,000 and a maximum of five years imprisonment without option of fine for students who involved in examination malpractices. If the government implements this Act, examination malpractices may be minimized or eliminated totally and that students should endeavour to prepare adequately for examinations by developing effective study s before, during and after the examination in order to excel in their studies