The Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has revealed that he received leaked National Examinations Council examination questions almost daily during the 2025 examination period, describing the experience as the “hardest time” of his life.
Alausa disclosed this on Thursday during a meeting with the National Association of Proprietors of Private Schools and other stakeholders in the education sector.
He warned parents, teachers, school proprietors, principals, invigilators and students against practices that could undermine the credibility of public examinations in Nigeria.
The minister also alleged that NECO examination questions were being sold for as little as ₦3,000 before candidates sat for the examinations.
He described the scale of examination malpractice in Nigeria as “mind-boggling”, warning that years of tolerance had created an unfair system where students who prepared genuinely were disadvantaged by those who gained access to examination materials in advance.
According to Alausa, the situation could also force honest students into malpractice as they struggled to compete with candidates who had obtained leaked questions.
“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,” he said.
He added that the danger was that “the good students would also become bad.”
Recounting his experience during the government’s efforts to tackle examination malpractice, Alausa said leaked questions were allegedly circulated and sold before examinations.
He narrated how one set of questions was reportedly sold for ₦3,000 before the examination.
“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 said.
The minister said the situation became particularly troubling in 2025 when leaked questions were sent to him before examinations.
According to him, he would forward the questions to examination officials for verification, only to discover in some instances that the leaked materials were genuine questions scheduled for candidates that day.
“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,” he said.
Alausa described the period as an extremely difficult experience, saying he woke up daily uncertain about what leaked examination materials he would receive.
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The minister maintained that examination malpractice should not be treated solely as a problem caused by students.
He said the entire education ecosystem—including parents, teachers, school owners, examination officials and students—must take responsibility for protecting the integrity of public examinations.
Alausa warned that allowing examination malpractice to continue would undermine the credibility of Nigeria’s education system and disadvantage students who genuinely work for their results.
He urged stakeholders to support efforts aimed at preventing examination leakages, cheating and other forms of malpractice before they become further entrenched in the country’s education system.
