The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced a comprehensive set of reforms aimed at curbing examination malpractice across the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), the National Examinations Council (NECO), and other national assessment bodies.
The measures were unveiled on Monday by the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, alongside the Minister of State for Education, Suwaiba Said Ahmed.
According to the Ministers, the measures is as part of efforts to restore public confidence, transparency, and integrity in Nigeria’s examination system.
Central to the reforms is the introduction of advanced question randomization and serialization, a system under which all candidates will answer the same questions but in different sequences, making collusion during examinations more difficult.
The ministers said the Federal Ministry of Education is intensifying oversight and deploying targeted strategies to safeguard the credibility of national examinations.
They also reaffirmed the ban on transfer of students at the Senior Secondary School Three level, a policy aimed at dismantling so-called “miracle centres” where last-minute transfers are allegedly used to facilitate cheating.
In addition, examination bodies will now be required to comply with standardized deadlines for submitting continuous assessment records to prevent data manipulation.
Meanwhile, every candidate will be issued a unique Examination Learners’ Identity Number to improve tracking, accountability, and certification accuracy.
The ministry further pledged closer collaboration with state governments and school administrators to strengthen supervision ahead of the 2026 examination cycle.
