The Minister of State for Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has reaffirmed the Federal Government’s commitment to eliminating examination fraud in Nigeria’s education system.
Speaking in Abuja on Wednesday while monitoring the ongoing West African Examinations Council (WAEC) Computer-Based Test (CBT), Alausa announced that Nigeria plans to fully transition to CBT for all major examinations by 2026.
WAEC Leading the Digital Shift
Dr. Alausa commended WAEC for pioneering the use of CBT, describing the move from traditional paper-based exams as “historic and crucial” in ensuring fairness and integrity in Nigeria’s education sector.
“We are working very hard to eliminate fraud in our exam system, and WAEC is taking the lead,” he said.
He noted that CBT simplifies the examination process and significantly reduces opportunities for malpractice.
“We now have clear evidence that when exams are done using technology, the level of fraud is minimised to almost zero,” he added.
Secure Tech and Gradual Implementation
The Minister praised WAEC’s internal safeguards, stating that the CBT system runs on a secure local area network, making it “literally impossible” to hack.
He disclosed that all WAEC multiple-choice papers will be conducted via CBT by November 2025, while essay components and the National Examinations Council (NECO) exams will follow by 2026.
Infrastructure Challenges Acknowledged
Addressing concerns about infrastructure in remote areas, Alausa admitted that full readiness by November 2025 may be unrealistic, but assured Nigerians that scalable solutions are underway.
“Are we going to be ready to provide every single needed infrastructure by November? No. But as we move into the future, we will be ready. We have to challenge ourselves as a government,” he stated.
Managing Exam Logistics
Alausa also spoke on the complexities of administering multiple exam subjects across several days.
“In WAEC, the average student takes about eight to nine papers. They do it over several days. Those are the logistics we, as administrators, have to work through, and we already are,” he said.
2025 WAEC Exam Statistics
The 2025 WAEC Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (SSCE) began on April 24 and will end on June 20. A total of 1,973,253 candidates from 23,554 schools are participating in the exam.
Of this figure, 979,228 (49.63%) are male, while 994,025 (50.37%) are female.
