NECO Questions Sold For N3,000 Before Exams, Education Minister Reveals

By Sabiu Abdullahi

The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has disclosed that National Examinations Council examination questions were previously sold for as little as N3,000 before candidates sat for the examinations.

Alausa described the scale of examination malpractice in Nigeria as “mind-boggling” and warned that the practice was capable of destroying confidence in the country’s education system.

The minister spoke on Thursday during a meeting with the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools and other education stakeholders. He called on parents, teachers, school proprietors, principals, invigilators and students to support efforts to protect the integrity of public examinations.

According to Alausa, examination malpractice had become deeply entrenched over the years, creating an unfair environment for students who prepared honestly for their examinations.

He said the situation could also encourage hardworking students to engage in malpractice because of the pressure to compete with candidates who obtained examination materials in advance.

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,” adding that the “danger was that the good students would also become bad.”

Recalling his experience in efforts to tackle examination malpractice, the minister alleged that some examination questions were openly obtained before the scheduled examination dates.

He said, “The Registrar of NECO at the time had a name. His name was (Ibrahim) Wushishi. You would go to Wushishi… I didn’t know that Wushishi meant going to the dark website.

“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 also recounted what he described as a difficult experience during the 2025 examination period, when he allegedly received examination questions before candidates were due to sit for the papers.

According to him, the situation led officials to repeatedly verify the circulated questions with examination authorities, with some of the materials later confirmed as the actual questions scheduled for the examinations.

He said, “During that examination period, during the hardest time of my life, 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.’

“It could be English or Chemistry. I was always waking up with trepidation every morning, doing work. 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.’

“So, that was a more aggressive intervention because we were seeing the question and confirming from the other side.”

Alausa said the problem could not be blamed on students alone, stressing that examination malpractice involved several actors within the education system.

He maintained that parents, school authorities, teachers, invigilators and principals must all take responsibility for preventing examination fraud.

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.”

The minister said the Federal Government would intensify measures aimed at preventing examination malpractice and ensuring that academic certificates reflected students’ actual knowledge and abilities.

He linked the reforms to President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to improve standards across the Nigerian education sector.

Alausa said, “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.”

He said the country could no longer continue to tolerate practices that undermine its educational standards.

Also speaking at the meeting, the Minister of State for Education, Prof Suwaiba Ahmad, urged private school proprietors and other stakeholders to support the Federal Government’s efforts to strengthen examination standards.

Ahmad said tighter examination controls could initially reveal gaps in the academic preparation of some students who had become accustomed to gaining access to examination questions before the actual tests.

She explained that the introduction of serialised examination questions would make it more difficult for candidates to benefit from leaked materials and encourage students to prepare adequately.

The minister also urged schools to complete their curricula within the required timeframe and encourage students to maintain regular study habits.

She assured private education stakeholders that the Federal Ministry of Education would continue to engage them as the reforms are implemented.

The Federal Government’s renewed campaign against examination malpractice comes amid persistent concerns over question-paper leakages, impersonation, collusion and other forms of unauthorised assistance during public examinations.

The government says its efforts are aimed at restoring credibility to public examinations and ensuring that students who prepare and compete honestly are not disadvantaged.