NECO Questions Sold for N3,000 Before Exams, Alausa Reveals

The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has alleged that NECO examination questions were sold for N3,000 before candidates sat for the papers.

Alausa made the disclosure on Thursday at a meeting with the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools and other education stakeholders.

He described examination malpractice in Nigeria as “mind-boggling”. He also warned stakeholders against practices that undermine public examinations.

According to him, malpractice has created an unfair system for students who prepare genuinely. Moreover, leaked questions could push honest candidates into cheating.

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.”

Questions Allegedly Sold Before Examinations

Alausa recalled his experience in efforts to tackle examination malpractice. He alleged that some examination questions were previously available for purchase.

He linked the alleged practice to a former NECO registrar, Ibrahim Wushishi.

The minister 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.”

He also recounted what he described as a difficult period during the 2025 examinations.

According to Alausa, examination questions were repeatedly sent to him before candidates sat for the papers. Officials then had to verify the materials with examination authorities.

In some cases, he said, the leaked questions matched papers scheduled for that day.

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: Students Are Not the Only Problem

The minister stressed that examination malpractice should not be blamed solely on students. Instead, he said parents, teachers, proprietors, principals and invigilators also have major roles to play. He argued that adults within the education system can either prevent malpractice or facilitate it.

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.”

He warned that the Federal Government would strengthen measures to protect examination integrity.

Furthermore, he said qualifications must reflect genuine learning and academic merit. Alausa said the reforms were part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s efforts to reposition Nigeria’s education sector.

He said, “What are we doing? Desecrating the Nigerian system? It won’t happen. Not under the watch of this President.

“This is a country with rule of law. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is transforming this country in a way that’s never been transformed before. This is Nigeria renaissance that we’re building to be sustainable into the future.”

He added that Nigeria had tolerated practices that weakened its examination system for too long.

However, he insisted that the government was determined to reverse the trend and restore confidence in public examinations.

FG Tightens Examination Controls

Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Education, Prof Suwaiba Said Ahmad, urged private school proprietors to support the reforms. She warned that tighter examination controls could expose gaps in students’ actual preparation. According to Ahmad, some students perform exceptionally well internally but struggle in external examinations.

This, she explained, could happen when candidates have become accustomed to accessing leaked questions.

Consequently, the government is strengthening examination procedures to make malpractice more difficult. One key measure is the serialisation and randomisation of questions. Under the system, candidates can receive questions in different sequences.

The approach is expected to make collusion and leaked materials less useful. It should also encourage students to prepare genuinely for examinations.

The latest warning forms part of broader government efforts to secure public examinations. NECO is also moving towards computer-based examinations as part of the wider reform agenda.

Ultimately, the government says examination results must reflect what candidates actually know. It also wants academic qualifications to regain public confidence.