The minister also recounted what he described as a difficult period during the 2025 examinations, when he was allegedly sent questions before candidates sat for the relevant papers. He said officials were forced to verify the materials with examination authorities, sometimes discovering that the questions being circulated were the same ones scheduled for the day.
The Nigerian, Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has revealed that National Examinations Council (NECO) examination questions were allegedly sold for N3,000 before candidates sat for the papers.
Alausa made the disclosure on Thursday during a meeting with the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools and other stakeholders in the education sector.
He described the level of examination malpractice in Nigeria as “mind-boggling”, warning parents, teachers, school proprietors, principals, invigilators and students against practices capable of undermining the integrity of public examinations.
The minister said examination malpractice had been tolerated for years, creating an unfair environment in which students who prepared adequately were disadvantaged by candidates who gained access to examination questions before the tests.
According to him, the practice could also encourage honest students to engage in malpractice in an attempt to compete with those who had access to leaked examination materials.
Alausa said, “It’s sad. Before she 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.”
Recounting his experience in tackling examination malpractice, the minister alleged that examination questions had previously been available for sale before candidates sat for their papers.
He said, “The Registrar of NECO at the time had a name. His name was 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 period during the 2025 examinations, when he was allegedly sent questions before candidates sat for the relevant papers. He said officials were forced to verify the materials with examination authorities, sometimes discovering that the questions being circulated were the same ones scheduled for the day.