Five-year Imprisonment For WAEC Exam Cheats

The federal government yesterday rose from its weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting approving the enactment of an Act to amend the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) Act, CAP W4, Laws of the federation 2004 to give effect to the revised convention of WAEC, 2003 in Nigeria.

Minister of Education, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufa’i, disclosed this yesterday while briefing journalists on the outcome of the FEC meeting, stressing that under the new Act examination malpractice will fetch five year jail term for offenders or the option of N200,000 fine.

The 2004 Act, to which an amendment is being sought, states that WAEC is empowered to take disciplinary action against those who have contravened the Act by illegally using examination papers and leakage of examination papers, etc.

In particular, section 19(1) reads: “such candidate shall not take or be allowed to take or continue the examination, in addition, he shall be prohibited from taking any examination held or conducted by or on behalf of the council for a period of two years immediately following upon such contraventions and if a candidate aforesaid has already taken any papers at the examination, his result therefrom shall be cancelled.”

In addition, the candidate may be prosecuted and if found guilty shall be “liable on conviction to a fine of N200,000 or imprisonment for a term of five years or to both such fine and imprisonment.”

Section 20 (2) reads: “the penalties contained in this sub-section (a) may be imposed whether or not a prosecution for an offence under section 20 or 21 of this Act has been brought or is being conducted or contemplated and (b) shall be in addition to such other penalties as a court may impose upon conviction for an offence under the aforesaid section 20 or 21.”

Rufa'i in a memo tabled before FEC noted that there was the need to domesticate the revised convention establishing the WAEC, Accra, 2003, pointing out that: “The ordinances have been replaced with the conventions which confers legal personality on the Council as an international organisation.”

“The council established in 1952 and operated in Gold Coast (Ghana) , Nigeria, Sierra Leone and The Gambia and Liberia “now operates under a revised convention signed in 2003 and functions through committees.”

The federal government also directed the Ministry of Justice to take further necessary action on the matter.

The government also approved the policy for the establishment of National Health Care Waste Management for Nigeria. The Minister of Health and his Environment counterpart, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu and Hajiya Hadiza Mailafiya respectively jointly presented a memo to FEC on the policy.

As a signatory to the Basel Convention on control of trans-boundary movements of hazardous wastes and disposal, the domestication of which is in progress and which necessitated the need for a national health waste policy, guideline and strategic plan, “Nigeria at present does not have a coordinated healthcare waste management system, especially in the area of segregation, collection, storage, treatment and disposal,” Mailafiya said.

She said the federal government, having deliberated on the matter, approved the adoption of the national health waste management policy and guidelines, and the establishment of the proposed National steering committee, taking cognisance of the fact that in the past “it has made some efforts in form of provision of high temperature incinerators at tertiary health facilities which form part of the healthcare policy and strategic plan.”

The government also approved the draft national fire safety code which will be implemented nationwide.

A post-council document stated that: ‘The code had become an urgent necessity in view of the rapid urbanisation and industrialisation that require safety inputs in the construction industry and town planning as well as industrial chemical processes.”

“The national fire safety code stipulates safety requirements in buildings estate, markets and similar structures which must be met before approval of building development plans are granted by relevant authorities,” it added.

The national fire safety code prescribes minimum standards for the establishment of a reasonable level of fire safety, Property protection from hazards resulting from fire, explosion and hazardous materials.