*Stakeholders Disagree With Minister On Cause Of Failure
The Federal Government has reaffirmed its commitment to ending examination malpractice in Nigeria’s education sector, saying that it would go ahead with the transition to Computer-Based Testing (CBT) for the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and the National Examinations Council (NECO) by 2026.
The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, stated this during a guest appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Tuesday.
His comments came amid growing concerns about the integrity of public examinations, especially following the release of statistics from the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), which revealed that over 1.5 million of the 1.95 million candidates scored below 200 out of 400.
However Stakeholders in the education sector have stoutly disagreed with the Mikister’s claim that the low performance in the UTME showed that cheating has been drastically reduced, and attributing it to improved integrity and security of the exam process.
The minister, who disclosed this also on the same programme, also claimed that it reflects a system where cheating has been drastically reduced.
Alausa said the results from the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) should not be viewed as a national setback but rather as a realistic reflection of the level of academic preparedness among students when examinations are conducted properly.
“JAMB conducts its exams using computer-based testing. They put so much security in place that cheating has been completely eliminated,” he said.
He pointed out that similar anti-cheating structures were not yet in place for other national examinations, such as the West African Examination Council and the National Examination Council.
But some stakeholders have dismissed his claim, sating, rather that the minister is far from being realistic.
“You cannot sit down in your office and be postulating. How prepared and secured were some of the centres. Also, how prepared was JAMB in the area of close monitoring? How do you expect a candidate who spent about one hour answering four papers to pass very well? His comments are unfortunate. As far as some of us are concerned, we are yet to feel the positive impact of the minister on the sector ” says an.aggrived educationist, who preferred to remain anonymous.
Another concerned Nigerian sèes the minister’s comment as highly evasive, trying to appease his principal that appointed him. “Or else, how do you rationalise mass failure even after series of complaints about preparations, supervision and even timing?. This is very very unfortunate.”
But, the minister insists that the discrepancy creates an uneven evaluation of student ability, especially when those who may have cheated in secondary school examinations confront stricter systems like JAMB’s.
“In WAEC, NECO, NABTEB, and other exam bodies, we still see malpractices due to manual processes and what we call ‘miracle centres’. That has to stop,” Alausa stated.
He disclosed that shortly after assuming office, the ministry conducted a comprehensive diagnostic review of the national examination process and established a committee to propose reforms.
Responding to questions about the poor UTME results and what they indicate about learning outcomes at the senior secondary school level, Alausa said, “That’s a big concern, and it’s a reflection of exams being done the proper way.
“JAMB conducts its exam using a computer-based testing system. They’ve implemented strong security measures, and as a result, fraud or cheating has been nearly eliminated. Unfortunately, we cannot say the same for WAEC and NECO.”
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The minister revealed that the government had conducted a comprehensive review of the country’s examination systems shortly after he assumed office.
“We carried out a diagnostic review of how exams are conducted nationwide. I set up a committee to investigate this, and I expect to receive their report in the coming days,” he said.
He further announced that WAEC and NECO would begin migrating their examinations to CBT from November 2025, starting with objective papers, with full implementation—covering essay components—by May/June 2026.
“We have to use technology to fight this fraud. There are so many ‘miracle centres’ and that is simply unacceptable. People cheat during WAEC and NECO exams and then face JAMB, where cheating is nearly impossible. That’s the disparity we’re seeing now. It’s sad,” Alausa said.
He stressed that examination malpractice not only undermines merit but also discourages diligent students.
“The worst part of cheating is that it disincentivises the hard-working ones. If I’m preparing for WAEC or NECO and I know some classmates already have access to the questions, do you think I’ll still study hard?
“No, I’ll be tempted to join them. That’s how good students are corrupted, and that’s exactly what we must stop,” he added.
When asked whether the poor performance of students was due more to weak enforcement or a genuine decline in learning, Alausa acknowledged both factors but emphasised the systemic issue of widespread malpractice.
“We’re addressing the quality of teaching and using technology, including online classes, to support learning from primary to secondary levels. But the pervasive cheating in our high school exams—especially WAEC and NECO—is the core problem,” he said.
“JAMB is now almost 100 percent fraud-free, but WAEC and NECO still have major lapses. Our youths are intelligent, capable, and energetic. It’s the environment that corrupts them, and we’re determined to fix that.”
The minister confirmed that extensive consultations had already been held with the leadership of WAEC, NECO, the National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB), and the National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies (NBAIS).
“By November this year, WAEC and NECO will begin CBT exams. There’s no going back on that,” he declared.
In April, the Federal Government formally directed WAEC and NECO to fully adopt CBT for all examinations by 2026.
The Ministry of Education specified that objective sections must transition by November 2025, with full integration of both objective and essay components by the 2026 examination cycle.
WAEC had already piloted a computer-based format for its private candidates in 2023, with over 8,000 candidates participating in the inaugural edition.
