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.