The Federal Government of Nigeria has unveiled a far-reaching set of reforms designed to eliminate examination malpractice in the West African Examinations Council (WAEC) and National Examinations Council (NECO) exams, marking a decisive escalation in efforts to restore credibility, transparency, and fairness in the country’s education assessment system ahead of the 2026 examination cycle. 
The reforms were announced on January 5, 2026, in a press release by the Federal Ministry of Education, and signed by Boriowo Folasade, Director of Press and Public Relations. The measures were disclosed by Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa, Honourable Minister of Education, alongside the Minister of State for Education, Professor Suwaiba Said Ahmed. 
According to the ministry, these reforms represent a significant policy shift aimed at addressing longstanding concerns about widespread cheating, collusion, and unethical practices that have historically undermined the integrity of national examinations and eroded public confidence in Nigeria’s certificate-based outcomes.
Among the central reforms is the introduction of enhanced question randomisation and serialisation mechanisms. Under the new framework, all candidates will still answer the same set of questions; however, the sequence and arrangement of each question paper will differ for every student, thereby reducing opportunities for collusion during examinations.
A notable and structural innovation is the creation of a unique Examination Learners’ Identity Number (ELIN) for each candidate. This national identifier will support the tracking of students throughout the examination process, bolster monitoring and accountability, strengthen data integrity, and provide a foundation for long-term reforms in assessment and certification. 
The ministry has also introduced new national Continuous Assessment (CA) guidelines that are mandatory for immediate implementation. All schools and examination bodies, including WAEC, NECO, and the National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies (NBAIS), must adhere to fixed submission windows: January for First Term CA, April for Second Term CA, and August for Third Term CA. The standardized deadlines aim to improve consistency and the timely processing of continuous assessment records nationwide.
In another significant step, the Federal Ministry of Education has reaffirmed its strict enforcement of the policy prohibiting transfers of candidates at the Senior Secondary School Three (SS3) level, a practice often associated with attempts to manipulate examination outcomes. This directive, communicated through an official circular, will be rigorously applied to prevent last-minute changes linked to malpractice. 
The ministry also pledged strengthened supervision and closer coordination with relevant examination bodies to ensure compliance with the new guidelines and ethical standards, stressing that these measures reflect Nigeria’s resolve to conduct examinations that are credible, fair, and aligned with global best practices while being sensitive to the country’s unique educational realities. 
Examination malpractice continues to be a serious issue in Nigeria’s education system. In the 2025 WAEC examination, the council withheld 192,089 results, representing about 9.75 percent of candidates, due to malpractice concerns, though this was a slight improvement from 2024 figures. NECO also reported 3,878 cases of malpractice in 2025, down significantly from more than 10,000 cases in 2024.
These statistics highlight gradual progress, but they also underscore persistent challenges in fully eradicating unethical behaviour, including collusion, unauthorised materials in exam halls, and mobile phone use, all of which continue to compromise the assessment process.
Broader efforts to tackle malpractice extend beyond school-certificate exams. In recent years, the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has tightened rules for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and enforced stringent penalties, including bans on candidates caught cheating and derecognition of centres complicit in malpractice. 
There is also a government-backed trajectory towards adopting Computer-Based Testing (CBT) for objective sections of public exams, and potentially full CBT formats, to improve efficiency and reduce human-mediated malpractices, a transition that has generated public discussion and test-run preparations ahead of 2026.
The Federal Ministry of Education has emphasized that the successful implementation of these reforms will require cooperation across multiple stakeholders, including state governments, school administrators, parents, and students themselves. Authorities reiterated that rigorous enforcement, technological upgrades, and data-driven monitoring are essential to realising the reforms’ objectives.
As the 2026 examination cycle approaches, educators, parents, and students nationwide are encouraged to be notified of a transformation in the way national exams are conducted.
Samuel Aina