NECO Questions Sold for N3,000 Before Exams, Education Minister Reveals
The Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, has revealed that National Examinations Council (NECO) examination questions were allegedly sold for N3,000 before candidates sat for the papers.
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, where he described the level of examination malpractice in Nigeria as “mind-boggling.”
The minister warned parents, teachers, school proprietors, principals, invigilators and students against practices capable of undermining the integrity of public examinations.
He said examination malpractice had been tolerated for years, creating an unfair environment in which students who prepared adequately were disadvantaged by candidates who gained access to examination questions before the tests
According to him, the practice could also encourage honest students to engage in malpractice in an attempt to compete with those who had access to leaked examination materials.
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,” adding that the danger was that “the good students would also become bad.”
Recounting his experience in tackling examination malpractice, the minister alleged that examination questions had previously been available for sale before candidates sat for their papers.
He said the process was associated with the name “Wushishi,” referring to the then NECO Registrar, Prof Dantani Wushishi, and alleged that candidates could obtain examination questions for N3,000 before the examination.
The minister also recounted what he described as a difficult period during the 2025 examinations, when he was allegedly sent examination questions before candidates sat for the relevant papers.
According to him, officials were forced to verify the materials with examination authorities and, on some occasions, discovered that the questions being circulated were the same ones scheduled for the day.
Alausa said the experience prompted a more aggressive intervention by the authorities, as officials worked to identify and prevent examination question leakages.
The minister stressed that examination malpractice could not be treated as a problem caused solely by students, saying the wider education ecosystem must take responsibility for curbing the practice.
He identified parents, school owners, teachers, invigilators and principals as key stakeholders whose actions could either prevent or facilitate access to examination materials.
Alausa said: “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.”
He warned that the Federal Government would intensify measures aimed at protecting the credibility of public examinations and ensuring that academic qualifications reflected genuine learning and merit.
Alausa said the reforms were part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s broader efforts to raise standards and reposition the education sector.
He said Nigeria had tolerated practices that weakened its education system for too long, insisting that the Tinubu administration was determined to reverse the trend.
The Minister of State for Education, Prof Suwaiba Said Ahmad, also urged private school proprietors and other education stakeholders to support the government’s reforms.
Ahmad noted that tighter examination controls could initially expose weaknesses in students’ actual academic preparation, explaining that some students who appeared to perform exceptionally well in internal examinations might have become accustomed to accessing leaked questions before external examinations.
According to her, the introduction of serialised examination questions would make it more difficult for candidates to depend on leaked materials and encourage students to prepare genuinely for their examinations.
The Federal Government had earlier announced enhanced question randomisation and serialisation measures for WAEC and NECO examinations as part of efforts to strengthen examination security and curb malpractice.