Racketeering on campus

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Toyin Falola

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Feb 17, 2020, 10:04:38 PM2/17/20
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https://punchng.com/racketeers-partner-lecturers-turn-varsity-final-year-projects-to-money-making-machines/


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Michael Afolayan

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Feb 17, 2020, 10:30:57 PM2/17/20
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"The story could be worse here in Nigeria. For instance, a former Executive Secretary of National Universities Commission, Prof Peter Okebukola, said 60 per cent of theses submitted by Nigerian undergraduates were plagiarised works. He also added that at Master’s degree level, the rate was between 15 and 20 per cent; and eight per cent at PhD level."

This is a global virus that does not typify Nigeria or India (or just Third World countries, for that matter).  It happens even in the United States. I have served on PhD committees where we failed students purely on the basis of either plagiarism or engaging in what we called TH (Thesis for Hire). The President of my university system himself was investigated and found guilty of plagiarism after he fired a young assistant Professor for "plagiarizing" his own work (that is, the young academic presented a report that he previously wrote and used at a different institution to submit as a new report to our institution - confusing as it may sound!). My point is this: of course Nigeria has its own barrages of higher ed anomalies about which we can write all day, but when it comes to the culture of untoward academic writings "in partial fulfillment of this or that degree," it's a disease of which no region of the world is absolved!

Michael 




On Tuesday, February 18, 2020, 4:04:49 AM GMT+1, Toyin Falola <toyin...@austin.utexas.edu> wrote:


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segun ogungbemi

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Feb 18, 2020, 8:40:32 AM2/18/20
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This problem is not new to me. It was one of the problems l encountered in the mid 80s which continues till today. 
The problems were many but let me briefly mention five of them. 
I. The teachers were not well equipped with necessary research methods. 
2. The students were not exposed to writing skills.
3. The learning environment lacked basic infrastructural needs to enhance research production. 
4. Nowadays, lecturers cannot cope with the number of students they supervise. 
5. The society itself does not encourage hard work. In other words, the moral value for hard work has diminished. 
Suggestions:
1. They should teach students at lower levels introduction to research methods. 
2. They should write term papers at 300 and 400 Levels and no more long essays or projects. 
3. Students in natural sciences should use their laboratory research findings to write their projects. 
4. NUC should not impose long essays on students. The Senate of each institution should make the decision on such academic matters. 
Prof. Segun Ogubgbemi

On Mon, Feb 17, 2020, 9:04 PM Toyin Falola <toyin...@austin.utexas.edu> wrote:
https://punchng.com/racketeers-partner-lecturers-turn-varsity-final-year-projects-to-money-making-machines/


Sent from my iPhone

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Patrick Effiboley

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Feb 18, 2020, 8:40:45 AM2/18/20
to 'Michael Afolayan' via USA Africa Dialogue Series
Egban Afolayan,
I agree plagiarism is a global disease and we should not do ''auto-flagellation'' to ourselves. What we need to care about is that those found guilty of this academic sin be punished equally.

Dr Emery Patrick EFFIBOLEY
Assistant Professor, 
Department of History and Archaeology, University of Abomey-Calavi 
Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of the Witwatersrand,Johannesburg,(2014-2016) 
 


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OLAYINKA AGBETUYI

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Feb 18, 2020, 8:40:55 AM2/18/20
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This is true!  There are lazy students everywhere.  I have taught a long distance student in the UK who asked me to do his paper for him in exchange for payment because he was too busy to meet the deadline.

OAA



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-------- Original message --------
From: 'Michael Afolayan' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>
Date: 18/02/2020 03:35 (GMT+00:00)
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Racketeering on campus

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"The story could be worse here in Nigeria. For instance, a former Executive Secretary of National Universities Commission, Prof Peter Okebukola, said 60 per cent of theses submitted by Nigerian undergraduates were plagiarised works. He also added that at Master’s degree level, the rate was between 15 and 20 per cent; and eight per cent at PhD level."

This is a global virus that does not typify Nigeria or India (or just Third World countries, for that matter).  It happens even in the United States. I have served on PhD committees where we failed students purely on the basis of either plagiarism or engaging in what we called TH (Thesis for Hire). The President of my university system himself was investigated and found guilty of plagiarism after he fired a young assistant Professor for "plagiarizing" his own work (that is, the young academic presented a report that he previously wrote and used at a different institution to submit as a new report to our institution - confusing as it may sound!). My point is this: of course Nigeria has its own barrages of higher ed anomalies about which we can write all day, but when it comes to the culture of untoward academic writings "in partial fulfillment of this or that degree," it's a disease of which no region of the world is absolved!

Michael 




On Tuesday, February 18, 2020, 4:04:49 AM GMT+1, Toyin Falola <toyin...@austin.utexas.edu> wrote:


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Moses Ebe Ochonu

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Feb 18, 2020, 10:38:23 AM2/18/20
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My point is this: of course Nigeria has its own barrages of higher ed anomalies about which we can write all day, but when it comes to the culture of untoward academic writings "in partial fulfillment of this or that degree," it's a disease of which no region of the world is absolved!

MA,

And with all due respect, Oga Afolayan, what is this point you're trying to make? That because there is also poverty in America (and in all regions of the world), we should not complain about poverty in Nigeria or do something about it? Or that because America has Donald Trump, we should not complain about Buhari's ongoing destruction of Nigeria? At any rate, does your post not invalidate the whatever point you're making since you discuss how plagiarists were punished and held accountable? Have you seen such accountability in Nigeria? And what about the weight of numbers? Does it matter that, per capita, Nigeria has more plagiarism cases than the America (your reference)? Or that the Americans are doing something about it while our people in Nigeria are mainstreaming it? Or that plagiarism makes news while in Nigeria it is the norm and therefore not considered newsworthy or scandalous? I know some senior academics in Nigeria who do not even know what plagiarism is. Is that acceptable? I know others who think plagiarism is an acceptable research/citation practice. Should we not at the minimum push for a greater awareness of what constitutes plagiarism so that clear cases of deliberate violations can be punished and so that we can reduce or eliminate cases of plagiarism by ignorance?

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OLAYINKA AGBETUYI

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Feb 18, 2020, 12:44:37 PM2/18/20
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I am not aware that anyone is defending plagiarism here.  It is just that Nigerians should not be painted as more evil than the rest of the world when the same crime is committed.  A white British and Nigerian drug pusher are the same to me even though the government of the earlier fights to all length to ensure their citizen is not executed by countries that execute drug pushers.

OAA



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-------- Original message --------
From: Moses Ebe Ochonu <meoc...@gmail.com>
Date: 18/02/2020 15:44 (GMT+00:00)
To: USAAfricaDialogue <usaafric...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - Racketeering on campus

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My point is this: of course Nigeria has its own barrages of higher ed anomalies about which we can write all day, but when it comes to the culture of untoward academic writings "in partial fulfillment of this or that degree," it's a disease of which no region of the world is absolved!

MA,

And with all due respect, Oga Afolayan, what is this point you're trying to make? That because there is also poverty in America (and in all regions of the world), we should not complain about poverty in Nigeria or do something about it? Or that because America has Donald Trump, we should not complain about Buhari's ongoing destruction of Nigeria? At any rate, does your post not invalidate the whatever point you're making since you discuss how plagiarists were punished and held accountable? Have you seen such accountability in Nigeria? And what about the weight of numbers? Does it matter that, per capita, Nigeria has more plagiarism cases than the America (your reference)? Or that the Americans are doing something about it while our people in Nigeria are mainstreaming it? Or that plagiarism makes news while in Nigeria it is the norm and therefore not considered newsworthy or scandalous? I know some senior academics in Nigeria who do not even know what plagiarism is. Is that acceptable? I know others who think plagiarism is an acceptable research/citation practice. Should we not at the minimum push for a greater awareness of what constitutes plagiarism so that clear cases of deliberate violations can be punished and so that we can reduce or eliminate cases of plagiarism by ignorance?
On Mon, Feb 17, 2020 at 9:30 PM 'Michael Afolayan' via USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafric...@googlegroups.com> wrote:
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