Education Minister Uncovers ₦3,000 Exam Question Scandal

(Education Minister, Dr Alausa. Photo by News Express)

Nigeria's Education Minister, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, has exposed the staggering scale of examination malpractice in the country, revealing that National Examinations Council questions were routinely sold for as little as three thousand naira before candidates even sat for their papers.

Speaking at a meeting with the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools and other education stakeholders on Thursday, Alausa described the situation as mind-boggling and deeply entrenched.

He warned parents, teachers, school principals, invigilators and students against practices that compromise examination integrity.

The minister explained that the problem extends far beyond simply compromised results.

When examination materials circulate freely before tests, genuinely hardworking students find themselves at a severe disadvantage competing against classmates who obtained the questions beforehand.

The widespread nature of the practice has created a perverse incentive where honest students may feel pressured to cheat simply to level the playing field.

Alausa recounted a specific instance where someone nicknamed Wushishi sold examination questions for three thousand naira before the test took place.

During the 2025 examination period, he personally received leaked questions repeatedly, sometimes multiple times in a single day.

When officials verified these materials with examination authorities, they confirmed the leaked questions matched those scheduled for that day's papers.

The minister stressed that malpractice is not merely a student problem but involves the entire education ecosystem.

Parents, schools, teachers, invigilators and principals are all complicit, working in connivance.

Students, in this context, become secondary players while the very people responsible for implementing safeguards are the ones driving the corruption.

The Minister of State for Education, Prof Suwaiba Said Ahmad, urged private school proprietors to support ongoing reforms aimed at making malpractice harder.

One reform involves serialising examination questions so that leaked materials become less useful to candidates.

She acknowledged that stricter controls might initially expose gaps in students' actual preparation, particularly among those accustomed to relying on leaked papers.

Schools are being urged to complete their curricula on schedule and encourage consistent study habits, with the ministry committing to engage stakeholders throughout the reform process.