The Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has directed all major examination bodies in Nigeria including JAMB, WAEC, NECO, and NABTEB to blacklist Computer-Based Test (CBT) centres and candidates found guilty of examination malpractice.
This directive, issued via a letter dated May 27, 2025, is in response to the widespread malpractices reported during the 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).
Dr. Alausa ordered that any school or CBT centre involved in examination fraud or operating as a “miracle centre” be derecognised for a period to be determined by the respective exam body. He also urged all other exam bodies to replicate such sanctions concurrently, stating this would send a strong deterrent message.
“For any school or CBT centre derecognised by one exam body, others must follow suit for the same duration,” he said. “This coordinated sanction will serve as a warning to all miracle centre operators.”
He further stated that students found guilty of malpractice should be banned from writing any external examination in Nigeria including WAEC, NECO, and NABTEB for three years, using their National Identification Number (NIN) to enforce the sanction. According to him, such a tough stance is needed to discourage students and their parents from engaging in fraudulent practices.
The Minister cited Section 16(2) of the Examination Malpractices Act as legal backing for this action, which allows exam bodies to share details of offending candidates, centres, or officials with sister bodies for unified sanctions.
This comes after the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) uncovered what it described as “advanced malpractices” during the 2025 UTME.
JAMB Registrar, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, disclosed that some CBT centres colluded with school proprietors and accredited operators to hack into centre networks, remotely control candidates’ computers, and manipulate responses. He noted the use of AI-enabled impersonation techniques, combined fingerprint registrations, and LAN extensions to offsite “strong rooms” as some of the methods used to perpetrate the fraud.
Prof. Oloyede confirmed that over 3,000 candidates have been implicated nationwide, with some results already withdrawn. He warned that more results will be cancelled as investigations progress and concrete evidence is established, regardless of whether those results had been previously released.
“Unfortunately, many of the culprits are current undergraduates of Nigerian tertiary institutions,” he said.
The Federal Government’s latest move signals a tougher stance on exam malpractice, with unified enforcement expected to reshape how external examinations are conducted across the country.
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