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Tag: Examination malpractices

  • Govt introduces new measures to curb examination malpractices

    Govt introduces new measures to curb examination malpractices

    The Federal Government has announced a comprehensive set of measures aimed at eliminating examination malpractices in the 2026 and beyond.

    This measure is geared towards eliminating examination malpractices in the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and National Examinations Council (NECO) examinations.

    This is contained in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Monday by Mrs. Folasade Boriowo, Director, Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Education.

    Boriowo said the new initiative was part of the ongoing reforms to strengthen credibility, transparency, and public confidence in Nigeria’s assessment system.

    She quoted the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, to have said that the ministry was intensifying oversight and deploying targeted strategies to safeguard the integrity of national examinations.

     Among the key measures, he said, was the introduction of enhanced questions’ randomisation and serialisation mechanisms.

    He said while all candidates would answer the same examination questions, the sequencing and arrangement would differ for each candidate, ensuring that every student wrote a unique version of the examination and significantly reducing opportunities for collusion.

    Alausa reaffirmed the ministry’s strict policy prohibiting the transfer of candidates at the Senior Secondary School Three (SS3) level.

     “This directive, already communicated through an official circular, will be rigorously enforced to prevent last-minute school changes often associated with examination malpractices.

    “To further ensure transparency, a new national continuous assessment guidelines have been developed for immediate implementation.

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    “All examination bodies (WAEC, NECO, NBAIS e.t.c.) must strictly follow the standardised submission deadlines for each academic period,” he said.

    Alausa said the submission windows for first term continuous assessment would be in January while that of the second and third term continuous assessments would be in April and August respectively.

    According to him, the timelines are mandatory and designed to ensure consistency, data integrity, and prompt processing of continuous assessment records across the country.

    In addition, Alausa said the ministry was also introducing a unique Examination Learners’ Identity Number for all candidates.

     The identifier, he said, would enable effective tracking of learners throughout the examination process, strengthen monitoring and accountability, and support long-term reforms in assessment, certification, and data management.

    He assured the stakeholders that examination administration would be conducted under strengthened supervision and coordination with relevant examination bodies to ensure strict compliance with established guidelines and ethical standards.

     He added that these measures reflected the Federal Government’s resolve to conduct examinations that are credible, fair, and reflective of global best practices, while addressing Nigeria’s unique educational realities.

     He, however, reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to working closely with all examination bodies, state governments, school administrators, parents, and candidates to ensure the successful implementation of these strategies and the smooth conduct of the 2026 examinations nationwide.

  • Examination malpractices

    Examination malpractices

    • •National Assembly’s move to combat fraud in the education sector is welcome

    Nigerian leaders, whether in the executive or legislative arm of government, have usually failed to look into the roots of social problems. One of such roots is the widespread cheating in school examinations. In some cases, pupils have been tutored to cheat from as low a level as the elementary school where some parents and teachers have been found culpable.

    It could only be imagined how deep seated the menace is at the secondary, tertiary and professional levels, where it has developed into an industry in which invigilators, officials of examination bodies, teachers or lecturers, students and parents have teamed up to lower the value of certificates from our schools

    We, therefore, agree with the House of Representatives that it is time we revisited laws meant to curb the menace.

    The federal legislative chamber is considering a five-year jail term for anyone involved in leaking examination questions to students or candidates at whatever level. The bill proposed by Esosa Iyawe who represents Oredo Federal Constituency in the House, does not allow for an option of fine. However, for students, a fine of N500,000 or incarceration for three years is allowed.

    Anyone who knows how widespread the vice is and its effect on the society at large would not consider the penalty stiff. Lecturers, including experienced professors, have been caught in the web, with some prosecuted and punished under the old law. Many did it for sexual favour, while others for pecuniary gains. In all this, the stage is set for mind-boggling corruption in the society.

    Civil servants have been accused of initiating non-existent contracts and unqualified contractors are known to have rigged their way into landing huge contracts at padded costs. Governments should not think stamping out such practices is possible with mere deployment of personnel of such bodies as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices (and other related offences) Commission and the National Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), among others, to go after offenders. They know their way and have accomplices in other institutions and agencies of government, and could therefore put out the fire that would have consumed them.

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    Government should note that enacting laws without implementation will yield no result. Under the existing law, law enforcement agencies have been reluctant to prosecute offenders. There is therefore nothing to suggest that things would be any better unless new measures are put in place.

    The opportunity to be offered by the public hearing that would follow committee consideration of the bill should be seized by well-meaning Nigerians and civil society organisations to make necessary suggestions. Failure to clean up the examination space would only devalue certificates from the country in the international community.

    Already, nurses and other public health workers are facing special scrutiny in the United Kingdom. It is thus tied to the image of the country that is crying for attention. President Bola Tinubu has a duty to ensure that things change under his watch.

    Similarly, the National Assembly should speed up the process of this bill that ought not to generate so much controversy. Although it has only passed through the second reading, important and urgent bills should not be delayed. Once it is passed to the relevant committee of the House of Representatives, it should receive the support of all. Since we have bicameral legislature, the Senate should take a cue and ensure that the needful is done.

    Like the case of sexual predators in some states, teachers found to be corrupting students in examinations should not just be prosecuted and jailed, they should have their names entered into a register that would prevent them from taking up employment in any school in the country. All schools should then be mandated to check such registers before recruitment exercises.

    Nigeria deserves the best and the very best. All schools and those saddled with the responsibility of moulding lives have a duty to cooperate with the authorities in ensuring that the bill is passed now and given full effect.