The Federal Government has announced a comprehensive set of new measures designed to combat the persistent issue of examination malpractice in key national secondary school exams. The initiative targets examinations conducted by the West African Examination Council (WAEC), the National Examination Council (NECO), and the National Business and Technical Examinations Board (NABTEB).
Core Components of the New Anti-Malpractice Strategy
In a statement released on Monday by the Ministry of Education's spokesperson, Folasade Boriowo, the government detailed three major reforms. The announcement, which quoted the Minister of Education, Prof. Tunji Alausa, stated these steps are part of a broader push to enhance credibility, transparency, and public trust in Nigeria's educational assessment system.
The first measure is the deployment of enhanced question randomisation and serialisation. Under this system, all candidates will be presented with the same set of questions, but the order and sequence will be uniquely varied for each individual. The Ministry believes this approach will significantly reduce opportunities for collusion among candidates and help contain the circulation of leaked answers during examinations.
The second reform introduces mandatory national guidelines for Continuous Assessment (CA). The policy sets strict submission deadlines for schools and examination bodies. According to the guidelines, first-term assessment records must be submitted in January, second-term records in April, and third-term submissions in August. The government emphasized that these timelines are compulsory and are designed to ensure data integrity and consistent processing of CA scores nationwide.
Tracking Candidates and Strengthening Supervision
A pivotal change is the introduction of a unique Examination Learners’ Identity Number for every candidate. This identifier will allow authorities to track a student's performance and history across different examinations. Officials expect this system to improve monitoring, boost accountability, and support long-term reforms in certification and educational data management.
Furthermore, the administration of examinations will now be subject to tighter supervision and improved coordination between the Ministry of Education and the various examination bodies. This enhanced oversight is intended to ensure strict compliance with all approved ethical standards and operational guidelines during the conduct of exams.
Building on Previous Actions to Restore Confidence
These latest reforms follow the government's recent directive prohibiting the transfer of candidates in Senior Secondary School Three (SS3). That ban was specifically aimed at curbing the practice where students move between schools to gain an unfair advantage during the final examinations.
The Federal Government stated that the combined objective of these measures is to restore public confidence in the integrity of national examinations. The ultimate goal is to ensure that examination results are a genuine and accurate reflection of a candidate's knowledge and abilities, aligning Nigeria's assessment practices with global standards while addressing local challenges.
