The Federal Government has raised fresh concerns over the integrity of Nigeria’s public examinations after the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, disclosed that National Examinations Council (NECO) question papers were allegedly sold for as little as N3,000 before candidates sat for the examinations.

Alausa made the revelation 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 scale of examination malpractice in the country as “mind-boggling.”

The minister said years of tolerance for examination malpractice and question-paper leakages had created an unfair system in which students who prepared genuinely could be disadvantaged by candidates who obtained examination materials ahead of time.

He warned that the situation could eventually push honest students into malpractice because of the pressure to compete with candidates who had access to leaked questions.

Recounting previous efforts to tackle the problem, Alausa alleged that NECO questions had been obtained and sold before examinations. He referred to former NECO Registrar, Ibrahim Wushishi, while explaining how people allegedly accessed the questions.

The minister said the questions were reportedly sold for N3,000 before the examination, describing the situation as evidence of how deeply entrenched examination malpractice had become.

Alausa also recounted his experience during the 2025 examination period, saying he regularly received examination questions allegedly obtained before candidates sat for their papers.

According to him, some of the questions were sent to him before examinations, prompting him to verify them with examination officials. On some occasions, he said the officials confirmed that the questions were indeed those scheduled for the day.

The minister said the experience demonstrated that examination malpractice could not be blamed solely on students, arguing that the wider education system must accept responsibility for preventing leakages.

He specifically identified parents, school proprietors, teachers, principals and invigilators as stakeholders whose cooperation was essential to stopping candidates from gaining unauthorised access to examination materials.

Alausa said the government would intensify measures to protect the credibility of public examinations and ensure that certificates reflected genuine knowledge and academic ability.

He said the reforms formed part of President Bola Tinubu’s efforts to raise standards and reposition Nigeria’s education sector.

The Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, also urged private school proprietors to support the reforms, warning that tighter examination controls could expose weaknesses among students who had become dependent on leaked questions.

Ahmad said the government’s plan to introduce serialised examination questions would make it more difficult for candidates to benefit from leaked materials.

She explained that serialisation would help ensure that candidates sitting close to one another would not necessarily receive identical question sequences, thereby reducing opportunities for coordinated cheating.

The minister also urged schools to complete their curricula on schedule and encourage students to prepare consistently rather than rely on examination malpractice.

The Federal Government’s renewed campaign comes amid persistent concerns over question-paper leakages, impersonation, collusion and other forms of cheating in Nigeria’s public examinations.

The government maintains that strengthening examination security is necessary to restore confidence in Nigerian certificates and ensure that students who work for their results are not placed at a disadvantage.