NECO QUESTION PAPER WAS SOLD FOR N3000 BEFORE EXAM- TUNJI ALAUSA
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The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, shared how some people allegedly got exam questions for N3,000 before the National Examinations Council exams started.He called the level of cheating in exams across the country “mind–boggling.”
He made this statement during a meeting with the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools and other education sector leaders.
In the meeting, he warned parents, teachers, school owners, principals, exam supervisors, and students not to engage in any activities that could harm the fairness of public exams.
The minister said that cheating in exams has been allowed for a long time in Nigeria.
This has created an unfair system where students who study hard are at a disadvantage because others get help from leaked exam questions.
He also said the problem is very serious because it might make honest students start cheating too, just to keep up with others who had access to exam materials before the tests.
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.”
The minister, while recounting his experience in the fight against examination malpractice, alleged that examination questions had previously been made available for sale before candidates sat for the examinations.
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.”
Alausa also recalled his experience during the 2025 examination period, saying he was regularly sent examination questions allegedly obtained before candidates sat for the papers.
He said the development forced officials to verify the questions with examination authorities, sometimes confirming that the questions being circulated were actually the ones scheduled for the 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.”
The minister said the revelations demonstrated that examination malpractice was not simply a student problem, insisting that the wider education ecosystem must take responsibility for curbing the practice.
He noted parents, schools, teachers, invigilators and principals all had roles to play in preventing candidates from gaining unfair access to examination materials.
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 the integrity of public examinations and ensure that academic qualifications reflected genuine learning and merit.
The minister said the reforms were part of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s broader efforts to restore standards and reposition Nigeria’s education system.
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 said the country had allowed harmful practices for too long that hurt its education system, but added that the Tinubu government is ready to change this.
The Minister of State for Education, Prof Suwaiba Ahmad, also asked private school owners and other people involved in education to help with these changes.
She said that tighter control over exams might first show how students are really preparing.
Ahmad explained that some students who do well in school tests might have gotten help with exam questions before the real exams.
She said using new exam questions in a series would make it harder for students to get leaked materials, and would push them to study properly.
The minister told schools to finish their lessons on time and make sure students study regularly.
She assured private education leaders that the Federal Ministry of Education will keep talking to them as the changes happen.
This warning comes after long–standing problems with exam cheating in Nigeria, like leaking questions, fake identities, working together to cheat, and helping students without permission.
The government’s new focus on fair exams is meant to make sure that exam results truly show what students know and can do, and to protect those who study and compete honestly.
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