Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, has revealed that examination questions were allegedly sold for as little as N3,000 before candidates sat for National Examinations Council examinations, describing the scale of examination malpractice in Nigeria as “mind-boggling”.
Alausa made the disclosure on Thursday at a meeting with the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools (NAPPS) and other education stakeholders, where he warned parents, teachers, school proprietors, principals, invigilators and students against practices capable of undermining the credibility of public examinations.
The minister said examination malpractice had become deeply entrenched over the years, creating an unfair system in which students who prepared genuinely were disadvantaged by candidates who gained access to leaked questions.
“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 said.
Alausa said the danger went beyond compromised examination results, warning that widespread malpractice could encourage honest students to cheat simply to compete with those who had access to examination materials.
He recalled an instance in which examination questions were allegedly obtained before the examination and sold for N3,000.
“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,” the minister said.
Alausa also recounted his experience during the 2025 examination period, when questions allegedly obtained ahead of scheduled papers were repeatedly sent to him.
He said officials were forced to verify the materials with examination authorities, sometimes confirming that the leaked questions were indeed those scheduled for the day.
The minister said the experience demonstrated that malpractice was not merely a student problem, but one involving the wider education ecosystem.
“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,” he said.
In the same vein, the Minister of State for Education, Prof Suwaiba Said Ahmad, urged private school proprietors to support the reforms, saying serialised examination questions would make it harder for candidates to rely on leaked materials.
She said stronger controls might initially expose gaps in students’ actual preparation, particularly among those accustomed to accessing leaked questions.
Ahmad urged schools to complete their curricula on schedule and encourage consistent study, assuring stakeholders that the ministry would continue to engage them as the reforms are implemented.
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