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.
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offenders-risk-five-year-jail-term-n200-000-
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