NECO questions allegedly sold for N3,000 before exams, Says Education Minister

Alausa said the experience led to more aggressive efforts by government officials and examination bodies to detect and stop leakages before they could compromise the examinations.

He stressed that examination malpractice should not be viewed solely as a problem created by students, arguing that the wider education system plays a major role in either preventing or enabling cheating.

The minister said schools, parents, teachers, principals and invigilators have a responsibility to establish effective controls that prevent students from gaining unauthorised access to examination materials.

He noted that students were often the least powerful participants in situations where adults within the education system deliberately created opportunities for malpractice.

Alausa said the Federal Government would continue to introduce stronger measures to safeguard public examinations and ensure that certificates awarded to students represented genuine academic achievement.

He linked the reforms to President Bola Tinubu’s wider plans to improve standards across the education sector, describing the effort as part of a broader attempt to rebuild confidence in Nigeria’s education system.

The Minister of State for Education, Prof Suwaiba Ahmad, also urged private school proprietors to cooperate with the government as the new examination measures are implemented.

Ahmad said tighter examination controls could initially reveal gaps in students’ actual academic preparation, particularly among candidates who may have become used to obtaining questions ahead of internal or external examinations.

She explained that the use of serialised examination questions would make it more difficult for candidates to rely on leaked papers and would encourage students to prepare properly for their examinations.

The minister also advised schools to ensure that their curricula are completed on time and that students are encouraged to study consistently rather than depend on examination malpractice.

She assured private education stakeholders that the Federal Ministry of Education would continue to engage with them as the reforms are rolled out.

The government’s renewed focus on examination integrity comes against the backdrop of persistent malpractice in Nigeria, including question-paper leakages, impersonation, collusion and the provision of unauthorised assistance to candidates.

The Federal Government says the measures are intended to restore confidence in public examinations and ensure that students who earn their results through genuine preparation are not disadvantaged by those who seek unfair advantages.