The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has described the level of examination malpractice in Nigeria as “mind-boggling,” alleging that National Examinations Council (NECO) questions were previously obtained and sold to candidates for as little as N3,000 before examinations.

Alausa made the disclosure on Thursday during a meeting with the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools and other stakeholders in the education sector.

He warned parents, teachers, school proprietors, principals, invigilators and students against practices capable of undermining the credibility of public examinations.

According to the minister, examination malpractice had been tolerated for years, creating an unfair system in which students who genuinely prepared for examinations were disadvantaged by candidates who gained access to leaked questions.

He warned that the situation could eventually force honest students to engage in malpractice simply to compete with those who had access to examination materials in advance.

Alausa said, “It’s sad. Before she and I came, the acceptance of examination malpractice, cheating and examination leakages in this country was mind-boggling, and the country accepted it. It was a nightmare.”

He added that the danger was that “the good students would also become bad.”

Recounting his experience in the fight against examination malpractice, the minister alleged that examination questions had previously been circulated for sale before candidates sat for the papers.

He said, “The Registrar of NECO at the time had a name. His name was Wushishi. You would go to Wushishi… I didn’t know that Wushishi meant going to the dark website.

“They bought his question for N3,000. That was it. Before the examination. They called him Wushishi and bought the questions for N3,000 before the examination.”

Alausa also recalled the 2025 examination period, saying he regularly received examination questions allegedly obtained before candidates sat for the papers.

He said the development compelled officials to verify the materials with examination authorities, with some of the circulated questions eventually confirmed to be the actual questions scheduled for that day.

“During that examination period, during the hardest time of my life, I was always worried, waking up. I would wake up to her text. She would send questions to me… She would say, ‘I just got this question.’

“It could be English or Chemistry. I was always waking up with trepidation every morning, doing work. I would send it to the HNO and ask, ‘HNO, is this correct?’ And the answer I got was, ‘Unfortunately, that’s the question we’re doing today,’” he said.

The minister stressed that examination malpractice should not be viewed solely as a problem caused by students, arguing that the entire education ecosystem had a responsibility to protect the integrity of examinations.

He identified parents, schools, teachers, invigilators and principals as key stakeholders whose cooperation was necessary to prevent candidates from gaining unfair access to examination materials.

“You might be in that isolated school, but the school system is also involved. In fact, I don’t blame the students that much. Any child can be bad.

“But when we have an ecosystem where parents, schools, teachers, invigilators and principals are in full connivance, the students are the smallest players. The people who should put the deterrents in place are the ones involved,” Alausa said.

He said the Federal Government would strengthen measures aimed at protecting the integrity of public examinations and ensuring that academic qualifications reflected genuine learning and merit.

According to him, the reforms form part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s broader efforts to restore standards and reposition Nigeria’s education sector.

The minister said, “What are we doing? Desecrating the Nigerian system? It won’t happen. Not under the watch of this President.

“This is a country with rule of law. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is transforming this country in a way that’s never been transformed before. This is Nigeria renaissance that we’re building to be sustainable into the future.”

Also speaking, the Minister of State for Education, Prof Suwaiba Ahmad, urged private school proprietors and other stakeholders to support the Federal Government’s examination reforms.

Ahmad said stronger examination controls could initially expose weaknesses in students’ actual preparation, particularly among candidates who had become accustomed to accessing leaked questions before external examinations.

She said the introduction of serialised examination questions would make it more difficult for candidates to rely on leaked materials and encourage genuine preparation.

The minister also urged schools to complete their curricula on schedule and encourage students to maintain consistent study habits.

The renewed push against examination malpractice comes amid longstanding concerns over question-paper leakages, impersonation, collusion and unauthorised assistance during public examinations.

The Federal Government’s position is that stronger examination controls are necessary to ensure that results from public examinations remain credible and accurately reflect candidates’ knowledge and abilities.