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As part of the reforms to strengthen the credibility and transparency of Nigeria’s education assessment system, the Federal Government has unveiled a comprehensive set of measures to stem malpractice in examinations conducted by WAEC and NECO. The new measures are aimed at eliminating malpractice in the forthcoming 2026 West African Examinations Council WAEC and National Examinations Council (NECO) examinations. The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, who made the announcement recently in Abuja, said the education ministry was intensifying its oversight and deploying targeted strategies to safeguard the integrity of national examinations.
The new exam reforms provide for the introduction of enhanced question randomisation and serialisation. It requires candidates to answer the same questions but with different sequences for each candidate. It ensures that every student writes a unique version of the same examination, which will significantly reduce opportunities for collusion with fellow students, external or school authorities. The ministry said it had also strictly banned the transfer of candidates at the Senior Secondary School Three (SS3) level. According to him, “the measure is aimed at curbing last-minute school changes often linked to examination malpractice.”
Another education reform by the ministry to promote transparency will involve the development of new national guidelines for continuous assessment. The education ministry noted that all examination bodies, including WAEC, NECO, and the National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies (NBAIS) were expected to adhere to standardised submission timelines. Under the new framework, the education ministry said first-term continuous assessment (CA) records must be submitted in January, while the second-term and third-term records would be submitted in April and August. The ministry emphasised that the timelines were mandatory to ensure consistency, data integrity, and timely processing nationwide.
Similarly, the Federal Government has introduced a unique Examination Learners’ Identity Number for all candidates. The identifier is expected to enhance learner tracking throughout the examination process, strengthen monitoring and accountability, and support long-term reforms in assessment, certification, and data management. It assured stakeholders that examination administration would be conducted under strengthened supervision and in close coordination with relevant examination bodies.
The new exam reforms for the conduct of WAEC and NECO exams are unique and commendable. It is an effective way to combat rampant malpractice by students and restore credibility in exam assessment. If the new policy is seamlessly implemented, it will ensure fairness for every student writing public exams in Nigeria. It will also align education with national development goals like technological advancement and skill acquisition. It is also hoped that these reforms would address issues like poor standards, lack of confidence, and the use of economic incentives for cheating.
Exam malpractice in Nigeria has been a big issue since Expo ‘77 when West African Examination Certificate Exams papers leaked across the country, leading to massive result cancellations. Today, exam malpractice is still rife in the country. Some parents and school teachers now collude to assist students in cheating during examinations. Examination officials are also complicit in the saga. Intense societal pressure for certificates over genuine learning has pushed many students to go the extra mile to cheat in exams. From copying to smuggling of answers, using ghost writers in exam halls and bribing officials, exam malpractice has morphed into high-tech fraud. Students engage in exam malpractice buoyed by the pressure for certificates, resulting in government’s crackdown on fraudulent exam centres popularly called “miracle centres.” It has also banned offenders for years, and deployed technology to fight biometric bypasses, and vowed to restore integrity through stricter rules and enforcement.
We urge the federal government to adequately motivate teachers. Without motivation, the teaching/learning process will suffer. It is sad that the standard of education has seemingly been lowered. The quest for paper qualification has escalated the rise in examination malpractice in the country. Let the government enhance the salary of teachers. Teaching must be made attractive with increased salaries, teaching aids and the provision of good learning environments. Government must begin to punish exam malpractice. Stricter sanctions should be meted to those involved. The ministry of education should do more by derecogning fraudulent exam centres and ensuring that offenders are prevented from rewriting the exams.
We believe that community involvement is required to discourage parental pressure for students to pass their exams by all means. Parents, old boys’ associations, and non-governmental organisations should enlighten the students on the dangers of cheating during exams. We believe that the new education reforms would restore credibility and public confidence in the exam system.
