The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has disclosed that National Examinations Council examination questions were previously obtained and sold to candidates for as little as N3,000 before they sat for the papers.
Alausa made the disclosure on Thursday while speaking at a meeting with the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools and other stakeholders in the education sector. He described the level of examination malpractice in Nigeria as “mind-boggling” and warned that the practice threatens the credibility of the country’s education system.
According to the minister, examination malpractice had become so widespread that students who genuinely prepared for examinations were placed at a disadvantage against candidates who accessed questions before the examinations.
He warned that the situation could also encourage honest students to cheat in order to compete with those benefiting from leaked examination materials.
Alausa said, “It’s sad. Before she (Minister of State for Education) 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 one of the major dangers was that “the good students would also become bad” when they were exposed to an environment where cheating was tolerated.
Recounting his experience in efforts to tackle examination malpractice, the minister said questions had previously been made available to candidates for payment before examinations.
He said, “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 pressure officials faced during the 2025 examination period, saying he regularly received examination questions allegedly obtained before candidates sat for the papers.
He explained that the questions had to be forwarded to examination officials for confirmation, with some eventually turning out to be the actual papers scheduled for that day.
The minister said, “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.’”
He added, “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.’”
Alausa stressed that examination malpractice should not be treated solely as a problem caused by students, arguing that parents, schools and education officials also contribute to the problem when they enable cheating.
He said, “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.”
The minister said the Federal Government would continue to strengthen measures designed to protect the integrity of public examinations and ensure that academic qualifications reflect students’ actual knowledge and abilities.
He linked the reforms to the administration of President Bola Tinubu, saying the government was working to rebuild standards across the education sector.
“This is a country with the rule of law. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is transforming this country in a way that’s never been transformed before. This is Nigeria’s renaissance that we’re building to be sustainable into the future,” Alausa said.
The Minister of State for Education, Suwaiba Ahmad, also appealed to private school proprietors and other education stakeholders to support the government’s examination reforms.
Ahmad said stronger examination controls could initially reveal weaknesses among students who had become dependent on leaked questions to perform well in external examinations.
She explained that the use of serialised examination questions would make it harder for candidates to rely on leaked materials and would encourage students to prepare adequately.
The minister urged schools to complete their curricula on time and promote regular learning among students, assuring private education stakeholders that the Federal Ministry of Education would continue engaging them as the reforms are implemented.
The renewed government position comes amid persistent concerns over examination malpractice in Nigeria, including question-paper leakages, impersonation, collusion and unauthorised assistance to candidates.
