By Saheed Ibrahim

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Private schools owners in Ondo State are now neck deep in underhand dealings of registering their students in JSS 2, JSS 3 and SSS 1 for the State Joint Examination, meant for students in Senior Secondary School 2, organised by the State Ministry of Education, investigation by The Hope has revealed.
The Hope gathered that this was done in order to secure slots for external students to be registered for West African Senior Secondary School Examination.
This practice, The Hope learnt, has been the usual practice among most private schools owners in the state.
The Ministry of Education has a standing rule that only the number of students that passed the joint exams will be allowed to sit for WASSCE in every school.
In view of this, the private schools register unqualified students in lower classes in order to secure slots for students who want to re-sit for WASSCE.
To perfect their plans, the proprietors also ensure that the unqualified students are supplied answers to the examination questions in order to ensure that majority of them pass.
In addition, the Ministry requires every school to submit “Continuous Assessment” (CA) results for students registered for the joint exams.
However, many of the figures submitted are usually falsified, according to investigation.
One may ask, how do unqualified students get CAs for the joint exams?
It was also gathered that many of the examination officers sent from the Ministry of Education to schools as invigilators usually compromise.
An inside source hinted that they aid and abet the schools, despite knowing that many of the students in the examination halls are unqualified.
The Hope also spoke with some of such students, used as mercenaries for the 2020 State Joint Examination for SSS 3 examination.
According to a JSS3 student, Jaye Adamolekun (not real name), he was registered by his school, located inside Ijapo Estate for the examination and revealed that he was not the only one, but his other classmates were included.
Another student, who attends a private school at Danjuma told The Hope she and her classmates were asked to come for the examination in her school.
When questioned about her ability to answer the questions, she said, “They (school) usually give us the answers to the questions. They will write the answers in papers and make photocopies for all.
“The invigilators do not talk. They just sit and look at us,” she answered when asked if the invigilators do not check them.
The Hope also spoke with some private school teachers in the state. According to a teacher in a private school (names withheld), “it is not a new thing in private schools. It is a normal trend. Schools register students in other classes for the examinations so that they can secure slots for external students for WAEC.
“WAEC does not allow a school to register more than the number of students who passed the joint examination. So, they add to the number of students and give everyone reasonable grade as continuous assessment, “she revealed.
When asked how the students pass the exams, an ex private school teacher revealed that teachers were used to provide answers to the questions.
“They know the students cannot pass the examinations. So, teachers are usually incorporated. Even in other examinations like WAEC and NECO, they use the teachers as well”, he said.
When contacted, the Permanent Secretary, Ondo State Ministry of Education, Akin Asaniyan told The Hope that the Ministry had a way of detecting such misconduct.
“At the end of the day, we will detect at the screening level. We already have their master lists with us and that is what we will use. So, if you like, exceed your list, we will be watching you.
“For that of public schools, you can’t do that because we have the list. But for private schools, since it is privately owned, they can misbehave. So, when they come to us, we nail them,” Asaniyan said.